The New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge has gone through quite a few style changes to get to where he is right now. The AL home run record holder is a chief example of what happens when a rare talent meets extraordinary coaching. Though he is now a centerpiece of the Bronx squad there is still one man he goes back to whenever he is struggling.
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It’s Judge’s personal hitting coach, the “teacherman” Richard Schenck. So why is it that a man who has all the facilities and coaching staff in the world at his disposal feels the need to go to a man who has never played higher than a Division II game? The reason probably is the big role that Schenck has played in shaping Judge’s hitting prowess.
Teacherman’s immense role in turning Aaron Judge into a homerun machine
Aaron Judge first got in contact with Schenck during the 2016-17 offseason. Judge’s agent Dave Matranga advised him to take Schenck’s help. Until then All Rise was struggling in the league with an average of 1.79. With even his future position in the team being in doubt he had to make quick changes.
Luckily for him, Schenck noticed immediately that even though the slugger had good bat speed, his swinging left a lot to be desired. So he prepared tee drills for Judge where they both swung together. Eventually, other exercises followed and things improved. Now a struggling Judge had transformed into a rookie who created the record for most homeruns in his AL debut with 52 homers.
The journey didn’t end there, the Yankees captain continued keep in touch with Richard whenever he had a chance or a lingering issue. The biggest of those instances came in 2022 when he couldn’t hit his 62nd homerun for 5 games. It filled him with frustration and he wondered what was it that he was doing wrong. Hence, he reached Schenck who gave him a few tips about his posture and in the very next game, he hit his 62nd homer.
Schenck constantly adjusts to improve All Rise’s hitting
The coach’s ability to adapt and change is what distinguishes him. Richard demonstrated this aspect through Aaron Judge as well. In 2016 he changed Judge’s swinging style but power was missing. Then Schenck made another change to his swinging by making him stand further away from the plate and use his legs more.
Every year he adds small adjustments and tune-ups to improve All Rise’s stance and hitting style. Though the Schenck has quite a long list of clients now, Judge remains his biggest one. One wonders what more the Teacherman has in store for Judge in 2024.
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Written by
Edited by
Deepanshi Bajaj