Aaron Judge will not participate in the July home run derby in Washington, DC. Last year’s winner of the New York Yankees canceled his participation.
“That’s simply not necessary,” Judge told the New York Post when asked if he would defend his title from last year.
Judge won the 2017 home run derby in Miami/Florida, beating Miguel Sano of the Minnesota Twins 11-10 in the final. He became the fourth Yankees player to win the Derby title.
Judge went on to say that he wouldn’t let the MLB or anyone else put pressure on him either: “Pressure won’t change that.” After his derby win last year, Judge, who finished his rookie season with 52 home runs, had a long period of weakness, which he himself did not want to associate with his participation in the derby.
Asked about it in Spring Training 2018, Judge said: “The derby wasn’t such a big effort to be honest. It was just like batting practice. It wasn’t very exhausting. I didn’t try to swing at 110 percent, I just took normal swings at 80, 90 percent and tried to make contact.”
Even then he suggested that he didn’t want to compete in a derby again. “It was a cool experience. I enjoyed it all, but I don’t think I have to go out there and do it again.”
This season Judge beats .281 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI and a .968 OPS (160 OPS+).
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This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.