Aaron Judge to play 'smarter' this season when it comes to diving for balls

TAMPA, Fla. — First things first:

Aaron Judge isn’t changing the way he plays.

Three full seasons into Judge’s major-league career, fans have grown accustomed to seeing the 6-7, 282-pound rightfielder hit the ground with some degree of regularity, whether it’s diving for a sinking liner or a shot in the gap, or ending up on the turf after crashing into a wall in pursuit of the baseball.

And that kind of effort isn’t going to stop.

But, Judge said, he is willing to reconsider the circumstances, not all of which are created equal, of going all out in that manner.

“It’s just about playing smarter,” he said Sunday morning. “That’s what you kind of learn over the years with experience. You learn from experience what balls to dive for, which ones you can get to.”

And it’s not just that.

Said Judge, “The scoreboard usually dictates when you should dive and when you shouldn’t dive, and then especially where you’re at in the season [is a consideration]. A game May 2 and we’re already winning 9-1, do you need to dive for this ball? Or is this Game 7 of the World Series or you need to win that one game? You’ve got to make those plays. It’s just about playing smarter.”

Judge has experienced his share of bumps and bruises in the majors, and though none of his significant injuries can directly be traced to laying out for a ball or running into an unforgiving wall, those jolts can’t be completely discounted as having at least some impact.

For example, Judge jammed his right shoulder in the fifth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Angels last Sept. 18 and had to sit out the next night’s game. And though it’s not thought to be directly related, he is slightly behind the rest of his teammates because of soreness in his right shoulder that began a couple of weeks ago shortly after he arrived early in Tampa to get a jump on spring training.

Judge, who was not limited during his offseason work until recently, did not hit at all the first three days of camp before hitting indoors Friday and Saturday. Sunday was a scheduled day off with the bat for Judge, who has resumed some light throwing and has been going through most of the outfielders’ daily work.

“We’re on the right track,” Judge said.

Aaron Boone has indicated that he thinks Judge should be able to take full batting practice soon enough.

“I feel like he’s good physically,” Boone said Sunday morning in Port Charlotte before the Yankees played the Rays. “Again, now it’ll be about just kind of conservatively really building him from a swing standpoint. You know, hitting in the cage, flips, cage BP, then get him outside. So we’ll take it slow just because of the calendar, but physically, I feel like he’s in a good spot.”

After appearing in 155 games during his rookie season in 2017, Judge was limited to 112 games in 2018 and 102 games last season. In 2018, he missed 45 games after being hit by a pitch and suffering a chip fracture in his right wrist, and in 2019, a strained left oblique cost him 54 games.

During spring training in 2017, Judge discussed his desire to be an everyday lineup presence and the overall importance of players who can be relied on as such. That has made the last two years that much more frustrating.

“You’ve got to be out there if you’re going to be the leader of a team and a force in a lineup,” Judge said Sunday. “Some of those things, like getting hit in the wrist, that’s stuff you can’t really do anything about. Then last year, pulling an oblique, that makes it tough. But my stance is still the same on that. If you’re going to be a leader on a team, you have to be out there every day.”

With David Lennon

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.