Too often, we miss historically important events while experiencing them in the moment without the benefit of reflection. I feel that way about Aaron Judge. His performance is something more than just great numbers.
Not that long ago, any player with his career arc would raise immediate suspicions and outright skepticism from leery and jaded fans. "Juiced" many would say when numbers such as these were talked about and occurring late in a career. The fact that these suspicions are not raised at all in connection with Judge strikes me as important for the sport.
Judge seems to represent something more than just home runs and gaudy WAR numbers. He reflects a newfound confidence in the public in the purity and integrity of his performance that has been missing in baseball for a long time.
For that reason, I think when we look back on Aaron Judge's career years down the road, we will come to appreciate his career as something more than mere numbers - a watershed moment when baseball reclaimed its innocence again and finally turned the page away from the steroids era.
Too often, we miss historically important events while experiencing them in the moment without the benefit of reflection. I feel that way about Aaron Judge. His performance is something more than just great numbers.
Not that long ago, any player with his career arc would raise immediate suspicions and outright skepticism from leery and jaded fans. "Juiced" many would say when numbers such as these were talked about and occurring late in a career. The fact that these suspicions are not raised at all in connection with Judge strikes me as important for the sport.
Judge seems to represent something more than just home runs and gaudy WAR numbers. He reflects a newfound confidence in the public in the purity and integrity of his performance that has been missing in baseball for a long time.
For that reason, I think when we look back on Aaron Judge's career years down the road, we will come to appreciate his career as something more than mere numbers - a watershed moment when baseball reclaimed its innocence again and finally turned the page away from the steroids era.