People have been too harsh on Aaron Judge since Team USA’s loss in the WBC final. But if you look at the bigger picture, his team came in with one of the strongest lineups, putting up 26 runs against Brazil and Great Britain. However, they weren’t able to carry that momentum forward, and Aaron Judge himself had a tough outing, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, but as Michael Kay has pointed out, the Yankees star shouldn’t be made the scapegoat.

“We can go up and down that All-Star-laden-Hall-of-Fame-to-be lineup, and they all crapped the bed. Every single one of them except for Harper,” Kay said on a recent episode of “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN New York. “But the one guy who’s going to get villainized and scrutinized and criticized, the one guy that everybody decides, ‘I’m going to pile on this guy,’ is Aaron Judge, who, if you look at his numbers in the WBC, probably had as good a WBC as anybody that played on Team USA.”

Kay then presented solid stats to flip the narrative on Judge.

“I got numbers to throw at you, baby…” he said. “You’re wrong. You can’t tell me he’s not a good clutch player. I’ll give you numbers that prove it. Since 2017, no one has had more tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later. No one more than Judge.”

He further stated that Judge, in a similar situation with a one or two-run deficit, has delivered a .343 AVG and a .582 slugging percentage. He also stressed that the captain’s WRC+ in the playoffs sits above players like Braves’ outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., Astros’ third baseman Alex Bregman, and Cubs’ outfielder Mookie Betts, among many others.

“Judge is 21st with a 125 WRC+,” he said. 

His regular-season WRC+, since 2017, is even better in the high-leverage games. Judge is 5th on the list with 143 WRC+. Michael Kay didn’t even feel the need to include his full-season figures since Judge has had many 200+ seasons for the New York Yankees. 

He also added that Judge owns the most HRs by a player in the postseason elimination games.

“No one has had more tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later,” Kay said. 

Yet, Kay’s defense isn’t going to subdue the noise this easily. 

Aaron Judge’s “Bigger Than World Series” take fuels backlash after Team USA loss

Apparently, before the WBC final, Aaron Judge said the international event feels “bigger and better than the World Series.” However, many misinterpreted the context behind that, and naturally, he was criticized.

Later, Judge had no option but to clarify what he really meant.

Aaron Judge would see the World Series as equally important as the WBC. After all, the Yankees won the last World Series in 2009. So, Judge has yet to win his first. But given the last two seasons, there has been an increase in expectations from the Yankees Nation. Judge’s recent near-miss in the WBC has added pressure on him as well.

Michael Kay has provided enough evidence to establish Aaron Judge as a clutch player. Unfortunately, the lack of world championships in his closet points to a different story. Despite his individual accolades, Judge has been the center of stern debates.  He will probably manage to suppress them during the regular season. But he still has to step up in October to silence them.