At first glance, Aaron Judge’s 2018 season pales in comparison to his 2017 campaign. The past year was nothing to sneeze at, sure, but juxtaposed with his 52-homer, 8.2 WAR, 173 wRC+ mammoth of a rookie season, well, it didn’t quite live up to that standard. Few ever do, after all.
Judge’s 2018 season, however, was plenty impressive when placed it in its proper context. Despite missing significant time with a wrist injury sustained from an errant Jakob Junis fastball, Judge clubbed 27 bombs for a 149 wRC+. He also led the team with 5.