TAMPA — A decade ago, Matt Holliday changed. Realizing he couldn’t catch up to the heat of some major league pitchers, he started kicking out his left foot and pushing off his right the way boxers unload haymakers.
Holliday was 25 years old. Aaron Judge, turning the same age in April, has made the same realization, the same change. And the Yankees have put them in the same corner of the George M. Steinbrenner Field clubhouse.
Plant, meet sunlight.
“I think he can help Aaron a lot,” manager Joe Girardi said.
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Before the Yankees brought in Holliday, a seven-time All-Star, to be the designated hitter on a one-year, $13-million deal in December, they already had big immediate plans for Judge. They wanted him to win the starting right field spot over Aaron Hicks outright and cut down on his worrisome strikeout rate. In 94 plate appearances last season, Judge whiffed an incredible 42 times.
So, that ask hasn’t changed.
Here’s what has: Now, Judge, at 6-foot-7, has sitting next to him the 6-foot-4 man he used to study on YouTube in his off time. He studied him because he’s been one of the game’s best hitting outfielders for a long time, studied him because of his power.
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Oh, and because the not-so-insignificant fact that not there aren’t many other successful big leaguers even close to his size.
Especially ones who have incorporated a leg kick into their swing so late in their development.
“It amazed me how a big guy like that with a big leg kick, how he’s able to control it and do damage on a a pitch and the more I watch him, the more I saw he really controlled his back hip,” Judge said.
The back hip. Hmm.
“Whether you’re big or small, you’ve got to load your hips. You’ve got to load your back hip up,” Holliday said. “That’s how I’ve always done it, at least for the last 10 years. Before I started doing it, I had a tendency of striding past the ball a little bit, coming off my backside and had a hard time catching up with my hands. I had to load my backside. That allowed me to get my hands out from my body.”
Sounds like the tutelage has already started, doesn’t it?
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It has.
Earlier this week, Judge and Holliday were together in the batting cage. While Holliday said they only “just kind of scratched the surface” while discussing hitting, when he was asked for details, he went full baseball nerd:
“For instance, if the ball’s away, instead of cutting it and getting too steep this way (Holliday used his arm to mimic a bat on an angle), I try to be a little more flat across your chest,” Holliday said he told Judge.
Aaron Judge hits during workout
Oh?
“Just little stuff like that,” Holliday said.
Right. Little stuff.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he sees how the teacher-student dynamic could work.
“I tell you what, Matt Holliday’s a monster. You can’t help but notice that every time you see Matt Holliday,” he said. “And then I saw Matt Holliday standing next to Judge and Judge is so much bigger. It’s amazing.”
And Girardi boiled it down.
“They both have leg kicks,” Girardi said. “I think you have a very experienced hitter who’s probably tinkered a lot in his career to do what you need to do to be successful, a guy who’s used to being in the middle of the order.
“When I think about Matt Holliday, he’s a quality guy. He’s a guy who’s really grounded and understands what you need to do to prepare and play everyday in the big leagues and for the most part has been an everyday player in the outfield so he understands that too. I think he can help Aaron a lot. He’s a calming voice. New York’s not a very calm place.”
Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.
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