While the 2024 World Series was the most anticipated Fall Classic in years between the sport’s two biggest powerhouses in the New York Yankess and the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s sadly failed to match the hype. And Stephen A. Smith has one person in his sights to blame for that – Bronx Bomber Aaron Judge.
The Dodgers hold a 3-0 series lead and could close out another title in a sweep on Tuesday night. Yes, Game 1 was a classic won on an extra inning walk off, but a sweep would be the worst possible result for Major League Baseball in their hopes that the ratings could be historic.
And the morning after another victory in Game 3 for the Dodgers, Smith roasted Judge for his poor postseason hitting performances at a time when other stars like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and teammates Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton have taken turns shining.
If there’s something Stephen A. Smith has really excelled at over the years, it’s naming someone or something the worst of all time. Kawhi Leonard knows that all too well. But while Smith didn’t quite go that far, he did say call Aaron Judge’s lack of heroics “one of the most atrocious performances” in postseason history.
“If you have been smacking 57 home runs throughout the regular season, ok, and you’re the monster, but then the bright lights of the postseason show up and you’re nowhere to be found. That is called choking to us. Now, I’m not going to use that word with this man, he’s such a nice guy, Aaron Judge,” Stephen A. said.
You knew once Smith complimented Judge as a human being that the killer blow was coming.
“But here’s what we’re going to say. This is one of the most atrocious performances we’ve seen from a baseball player, from a hitter, in postseason history,” he added.
Well thank goodness Stephen A. Smith didn’t call Aaron Judge a choker!
Judge is batting .083 in this year’s World Series with just one single, one walk, and seven strikeouts in the first three games. Over the entirety of this year’s postseason, he’s batting .140 with a .580 OPS. That’s pretty much half of his career regular season averages of .288 batting and 1.010 OPS.
Judge’s postseason average is second worst among players with 25-plus at bats, just behind teammate Austin Wells. He’s tied with Ohtani for the most strikeouts this postseason, but the Dodgers slugger’s OPS is 250 points higher. In fairness to Judge, Ohtani’s WS batting average is only slightly better at .091, but his team is the one with the 3-0 series lead. And when you’re not producing on the biggest stage and your team isn’t winning, that’s a recipe to getting called out by the talking heads.
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