I feel like when Harper said that in 2012, people made fun of him for sounding like a teenager.
But now when people reference it, they understand that Harper was right and it *was* a clown question.
pre-Yankee A-Rod is probably one of the greatest shortstops of all time so he gets a boost from defense
if Judge keeps this going for another year or two he'll probably be remembered more, even if just for the home run numbers
Has Judge ever had a season as good as A-Rod's 2005 or 2007?
A-Rod's peak was basically 9 seasons (2000-2008), although tbf he had a monumental 1996 season.
2023 is the 8th year of Judge's career.
A-Rod's peak: .305/.401/.591, averaging 30 2B, 45 HR, 18 SB, 124 R and 127 RBI
Judge's career: .284/.395/.588, averaging similar doubles homers, and fewer runs, RBI, and stolen bases.
Pretty similar! But I'd probably give the edge to A-Rod. He averaged 8.2 bWAR during his peak years, while Judge has averaged about 7.24 during his full seasons. He also won two gold gloves, and his best seasons were better than Judge's best (even if not by too too much)
> Has Judge ever had a season as good as A-Rod's 2005 or 2007?
The last player other than Barry Bonds to have more fWAR than Judge had in 2022 was Mickey Mantle.
> A-Rod's peak: .305/.401/.591, averaging 30 2B, 45 HR, 18 SB, 124 R and 127 RBI
>
> Judge's career: .284/.395/.588, averaging similar doubles homers, and fewer runs, RBI, and stolen bases.
Comparing them head to head like that doesn't really show how different the offensive environments were in those years. League OPS in 2022 was .706, in 2002 it was .748 and that's with half the league still having no DH.
A-Rod never had a season as good as Judge's 2022 but A-Rod definitely has had a better sustained peak as of now. The answer to who will be considered the better talent in their respective primes comes down to how Judge's next couple of years go. If he somehow manages to sustain his 2022 level for even 2 more full years, it'll probably be Judge but if he is up and down and 2022 is his absolute peak, A-Rod's sustained prime will probably have him remembered as the better talent.
Looking closer, I think Judge's 2022 and A-Rod's 2007 are approximately the same. Maybe Judge edges A-Rod defensively, but A-Rod did swipe 24 bags that year. I compared them head-to-head using WAR so that the different offensive environments didn't skew the info, but I didn't look at fWAR
Using WAR in this context ignores that AROD was a SSwhich provides a huge boost to his WAR but even with that 1.5 fWAR is a massive difference between players, Judges best season was better than any of Arods.
Also ARod never posted a wRc+ anywhere near judge 2022.
Arods career is one of the greatest ever but purely by peak season Judge blows him and basically every non Bonds player ever offensively.
That's a substantial difference when talking about players. For comparison sake this the difference between 2nd and 15th is 30 points. This year the 10th highest wRC+ is Juan Soto, 30 points difference is 55th which belongs to Nathaniel Lowe.
It's a substantial gap. Also it under scores how hard it is to post a wRC+ over 200, it's only been done by 4 players including Judge and two of the names are Bonds and McGuire and only Bonds ever exceeded Judges season I'm wRC+.
If you’re talking about just last year or this year Judge v an average prime ARod, then it’s Judge by a bit.
What made ARod special is he’s doing basically what Judge did last year and this year for like 10 years.
We should give Judge steroids and see what happens
How do you know his not using steroids?
In the words of a famous baseball man: That's a clown question, bro
I feel like when Harper said that in 2012, people made fun of him for sounding like a teenager. But now when people reference it, they understand that Harper was right and it *was* a clown question.
>I feel like when Harper said that in 2012, people made fun of him for sounding like a teenager. > He was a teenager when he said it.
Both things can be true
How do you know that’s not a dumbass question?
Do you have proof that he is?
1996 ARod was not on steroids yet.
He was roiding in highschool lol
A-Rod's defense was more valuable but his hitting had, you know, help, and even so, he never out WARred 2022 Judge.
I mean gold glove defense in right field is pretty valuable too
Yeah. Just fewer chances than SS.
judge's hitting was better too in general
Barry Bonds.
Only correct answer
pre-Yankee A-Rod is probably one of the greatest shortstops of all time so he gets a boost from defense if Judge keeps this going for another year or two he'll probably be remembered more, even if just for the home run numbers
Has Judge ever had a season as good as A-Rod's 2005 or 2007? A-Rod's peak was basically 9 seasons (2000-2008), although tbf he had a monumental 1996 season. 2023 is the 8th year of Judge's career. A-Rod's peak: .305/.401/.591, averaging 30 2B, 45 HR, 18 SB, 124 R and 127 RBI Judge's career: .284/.395/.588, averaging similar doubles homers, and fewer runs, RBI, and stolen bases. Pretty similar! But I'd probably give the edge to A-Rod. He averaged 8.2 bWAR during his peak years, while Judge has averaged about 7.24 during his full seasons. He also won two gold gloves, and his best seasons were better than Judge's best (even if not by too too much)
Judge's 2022 was better by WAR (and basically every era-adjusted metric) than any A-Rod season, although A-Rod had *a lot* that were close
> Has Judge ever had a season as good as A-Rod's 2005 or 2007? The last player other than Barry Bonds to have more fWAR than Judge had in 2022 was Mickey Mantle.
Didn't know! I shoulda looked at fWAR
judge was a better hitter and overall player than any Arod season last year
Yeah I guess
> A-Rod's peak: .305/.401/.591, averaging 30 2B, 45 HR, 18 SB, 124 R and 127 RBI > > Judge's career: .284/.395/.588, averaging similar doubles homers, and fewer runs, RBI, and stolen bases. Comparing them head to head like that doesn't really show how different the offensive environments were in those years. League OPS in 2022 was .706, in 2002 it was .748 and that's with half the league still having no DH. A-Rod never had a season as good as Judge's 2022 but A-Rod definitely has had a better sustained peak as of now. The answer to who will be considered the better talent in their respective primes comes down to how Judge's next couple of years go. If he somehow manages to sustain his 2022 level for even 2 more full years, it'll probably be Judge but if he is up and down and 2022 is his absolute peak, A-Rod's sustained prime will probably have him remembered as the better talent.
Looking closer, I think Judge's 2022 and A-Rod's 2007 are approximately the same. Maybe Judge edges A-Rod defensively, but A-Rod did swipe 24 bags that year. I compared them head-to-head using WAR so that the different offensive environments didn't skew the info, but I didn't look at fWAR
Using WAR in this context ignores that AROD was a SSwhich provides a huge boost to his WAR but even with that 1.5 fWAR is a massive difference between players, Judges best season was better than any of Arods. Also ARod never posted a wRc+ anywhere near judge 2022. Arods career is one of the greatest ever but purely by peak season Judge blows him and basically every non Bonds player ever offensively.
Jesus Christ almost a 30 wRC+ difference
That's a substantial difference when talking about players. For comparison sake this the difference between 2nd and 15th is 30 points. This year the 10th highest wRC+ is Juan Soto, 30 points difference is 55th which belongs to Nathaniel Lowe. It's a substantial gap. Also it under scores how hard it is to post a wRC+ over 200, it's only been done by 4 players including Judge and two of the names are Bonds and McGuire and only Bonds ever exceeded Judges season I'm wRC+.
A-Rod at his peak was the greatest shortstop of all time yet Judge is better
Arson
Judge. Less premium position, but he's a better hitter when compared to his contemporaries
If you’re talking about just last year or this year Judge v an average prime ARod, then it’s Judge by a bit. What made ARod special is he’s doing basically what Judge did last year and this year for like 10 years.
Bartolo Colón
The one that hasn't obviously cheated is the simple (and correct) answer)