TAMPA — Aaron Decide took the sector for the primary time Saturday and had a tough two-run single by the left facet of the infield in his second at-bat.
“I was glad to be back out there,’’ Judge said. “I was kind of itching, seeing everybody else do their thing and everybody looking so good. It’s time to get going.”
There wasn’t a lot to seek out fault in Decide’s historic offensive season final yr, by which he managed to outdo his record-breaking efficiency from 2022 with profession highs in most classes en path to a second MVP award.
However along with the best way the season ended for Decide — whose hunch within the playoffs helped price the Yankees the World Sequence — he additionally didn’t get off to a robust begin to the common season.
That’s why Decide mentioned he’s seeking to get some additional work in on the plate earlier than Opening Day, beginning with the 2 at-bats he bought in a 9-3 Grapefruit League win over Houston at Steinbrenner Discipline on Saturday.
This comes after Decide bought 24 at-bats in Grapefruit League video games final spring — partially as a result of Aaron Boone mentioned Decide was “mid-spring beat up” and the supervisor gave him 10 days off.
Decide mentioned he desires to have 40 or 50 at-bats this spring, both in spring coaching video games or in simulated video games on the again fields.
“It’d assist us begin April off slightly higher,’’ Decide mentioned of the plan.
Final yr, Decide had simply six homers and a .414 slugging proportion, to associate with a .754 OPS, on the finish of April.
And whereas these numbers had been by far the worst of any month of his season, his .940 profession OPS in April, whereas the envy of nearly each different hitter within the majors, is the bottom of any month.
Requested if he didn’t really feel “ready” final April, Decide mentioned, “I definitely felt prepared, but looking into it, maybe this is one avenue to help us get a better start.”
He added of his gradual first month: “I felt ready. I definitely felt ready going into Opening Day, but when you reflect on the season and look back, ‘What can I maybe try to improve?’ If you want to improve your bench press, you do more push-ups. Whatever you’ve got to do. If I want to improve my season, more at-bats will maybe help me start the season better.”
In fact, Decide was a monster the remainder of the common season.
After Might 4, Decide led the majors in nearly each offensive class, far outpacing even the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, with a 1.282 OPS, 52 homers and a .790 slugging proportion, whereas hitting .357 and compiling a WAR of 10.8, in line with FanGraphs.
With Giancarlo Stanton out indefinitely with tennis elbow in each elbows — an harm that can preserve Stanton out not less than into the start of the common season — Decide might be relied upon much more.
And final yr, Decide additionally had the luxurious of hitting behind Juan Soto, who’s now throughout city with the Mets.
Now, it’s Decide’s present, maybe greater than ever earlier than.
