Judging Others

As published in The County Times (countytimes.somd.com)

By Ronald N. Guy Jr.

This “View” lands well before the 21^st night of September, but hopefully it will as cool as a funky Earth, Wind & Fire beat.  Maggie, it’s not even late September and kids are already back to school.  “Wake me up, when September ends”: really Green Day, dudes?  You don’t want to sleep through this screed!

Such an opening has to precede a passionate column on football’s return.  Yes indeed, the great American game is back – and with it, many things.  Gameday rituals.  Epic dips.  Deep couch sitting.  Remotes never, ever beyond arm’s reach.  And willfully, proudly neglecting chores.  Look at that grass grow.  Go nature!  Has it sprouted yet?  Has wildlife taken up residence?  How many light bulbs are out?  Mmmm…smell the fabulous fragrance of fermenting garbage.  Should I wash laundry or order more boxers from the couch?

Ahhh…there will be plenty of time for pigskin.  Embrace delayed gratification.  For now, and for this this column, baseball takes centerstage.  Disappointed?  Gimme 500 words to change your mind.

By “baseball”, I mean Aaron Judge.  I know, that is a very dangerous subject two hours south of Baltimore and with Birds fans circling throughout Southern Maryland.  If it helps, I like the Yankees as much as “Green Eggs and Ham”, which is to say not at all…Sam I am.  But, their distinguished place in sports history is undeniable.  With alumni like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, it is hard to impress in pinstripes.  Judge has - he hit 62 homeruns in 2022 to set an American League record - and he’s at it again this year.

Judge has a shot this year at eclipsing those 62 homers and he is currently posting a 0.464 on-base percentage (OBP), a career high.  Regarding that OBP, if it holds, it would rank around the 150^th best in MLB history.  It is more impressive than that.  Consider a few things.  Of those seasonal OBPs greater than Judge’s, only about 18 have happened since 1985.  That’s an arbitrary date, but the general attempt is to define a point in time before pitcher specialization.  Batters now can expect to face three pitchers a night, all throwing 95 MPH-plus heaters and Wiffle ball-worthy breaking pitches.  Further, of those 18-ish post-’85 OBP seasons, about two-thirds occurred during the steroid era (1994-2004), a time when growth in baseball’s batting stats made the inflation of recent years appear to be a non-event.  And one additional point: Judge, all 6’7” of him, is the classic baseball slugger.  He has no business belting 60 bombs, hitting for average and basically having a coin flip’s odds of getting on base.  But he does all of the above.  Dude is a human video game.

This is all presented to remind that, ease of Yankee-hatred aside, Judge is having a season.  And if you love baseball, he deserves a tip of the cap. 

Psychiatrist Carl Jung once said, “It is easier to judge than to think.” Admission: when judging Judge’s league-leading 2024 OBP, I was initially disappointed and unimpressed to find it buried 150 rows deep in MLB history.  Then Yung reminded that additional thought was required.  Context was important – eras, changes to the game, types of hitters and banned pharmaceutical boosts.  With an appropriate pause to think on it, Judge’s 2024 season is among the best in baseball history - period.

There’s more.  These next few months are sure to be challenging.  Targeted ads and wild claims loosely based in or completed unmoored from fact will be blasted across the hinterland – an attempt to force final and absolute judgement on one candidate or another and, more importantly, on one entire group of supporters or the other.  Just as Judge’s season is deserving of deeper thought, so are our fellow Americans.  For when this ends, we’ll remain as interconnected and interdependent as always – for health care, education, safety, emergency services or an excellent cup of coffee on a rough Monday morning.  Jung isn’t wrong – it is easier to judge than to think - but the bet is he underestimated our willingness to hard thing, especially when doing so is the right thing.