Toronto Blue Jays have strategy to contain New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge
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The Toronto Blue Jays have to keep New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge off the score sheet to win the American League Division Series.
Aaron Judge is the cog that runs the Yankees' potent offensive machine.
The Blue Jays know that keeping Judge in check would go a long way toward eliminating their division rivals.
Judge just put the finishing touches on another dominant campaign that has a good chance to earn him his second consecutive American League Most Valuable Player award, and third over the last four seasons.
The 33-year-old outfielder led the major leagues in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457) and slugging percentage (.688), and his on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.144 was almost .200 points higher than any other qualified hitter in the AL (Blue Jays outfielder/designated hitter George Springer ranked second among qualified hitters at .959).
«You're definitely aware of where he is at all times and respect the hell out of the season that he had,» manager John Schneider told reporters on Friday.
Toronto's starter for Game 1 on Saturday, Kevin Gausman, knows about as well as anyone on the roster how dangerous the 6-foot-7 Judge can be.
Judge has hit .354 with six home runs in 61 plate appearances against Gausman in his career.
«He's a lot bigger than most guys, first off,» Gausman said on Friday. «He can hit pitches that most guys can't hit. He can mis-hit a ball and still hit a home run. He's just that strong.»
The Blue Jays as a whole have not done a good job of keeping Judge under control this year despite their 8-5 record against the Yankees.
In 13 games against the Blue Jays in 2025, Judge has hit .325 with three home runs and a 1.118 OPS. In his career against Toronto, he's hit .300 with 41 home runs and a 1.017 OPS in 133 games.
What can the Blue Jays do to prevent the dominant force of Judge from blowing this series up by himself?
Schneider said the danger could start and end with the Blue Jays just simply taking the bat out of his hands.
«I know I've gotten plenty of boos in New York and even some boos here if you walk him,» Schneider said. «I get it, as a fan of the game.»
The Blue Jays have walked Judge 15 times this season, with seven of those walks being intentional.
Both classifications are the most for any single opponent facing Judge this year.
Kevin Gausman echoed a similar idea when talking to the media on Friday
«There's times, if there's an open base and it's late in the game, we're probably going to [walk him intentionally,]» Gausman said. «That's the nature of the beast. He's a guy that, like I said, can beat you with one swing. He's one of the best players in the game. At the same time, you always want to go after guys, so it's kind of that double-edged sword.»
If the Blue Jays elect to err on the side of caution against Judge, that makes the hitters that follow all the more important for the pitching staff.
Judge's 53 homers this year lead the Yankees by a wide margin, but six other players on the team hit more than 20 on the year.
The Yankees led the majors in home runs with 274, 30 more than the next closest team (the Los Angeles Dodgers).
Nothing will come easy facing the Yankees, and Gausman knows every pitch is going to count that much more.
«You've just got to know that you've got to be a little bit more fine when [Judge] comes up,» Gausman said. «When guys are on base, you really have to be fine, because he's the guy that with one swing of that bat, he can blow a game wide open.»
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