Yankees are starting to feel Mariners' pain as Aaron Judge's bat goes ice-cold

Remember how Yankees fans scoffed at Cal Raleigh's ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of the 2025 AL MVP Award, repeatedly calling him overrated? They've been more than happy to mock the Mariners fanbase this season, using Raleigh's .161 batting average and .560 OPS as evidence he's just not that good. Well, now they're getting a taste of their own medicine thanks to Aaron Judge's own issues at the plate.

Judge is looking lost at the moment, batting only .203 with a 34.3 strikeout percentage over his past 16 games. The Yankees' most recent series versus the Blue Jays really put a spotlight on his issues of late. This included being struck out in seven straight at-bats, with the last one particularly likely to have amused the Mariners fanbase (and probably Major League fans in general):

It was an all-around brutal four-game series for Judge as he went just 1-for-15 in the usually friendly confines of Yankee Stadium, where he's a career .300 hitter. And on Thursday he ground into a double play as he went on to match his career-long 10-game RBI drought, which has happened to him three times previously.

We won't go as far as saying as Judge goes, so do the Yankees, but it's pretty damn close. After flying out of the stalls with a 25-11 record to pace the AL, they've since gone 5-10 in their last 15 games and now trail the Rays by 4.5 games in the AL East. Talk about mirroring the three-time AL MVP's fall from grace.

The Aaron Judge vs. Cal Raleigh sequel is failing to live up to the hype

Look, make no mistake that even despite Judge's current struggles, you'd objectively still pick him over Raleigh at the moment. And before anyone decides to be facetious, yes we realize it's an easy choice to make when the Mariners' clubhouse leader is injured. However, even before he went on the 10-day Injured List, he was having a nightmare which included an ugly 0-for-38 hitless streak that came within four of the club record.

Once Raleigh is fully healed from his right oblique strain, you'd like to think he'll return somewhere closer to the player who hit 60 home runs last season and is generally regarded as the best catcher in the game. Similarly though, it has to be accepted in Seattle that Judge won't continue to struggle long-term. For now though, the AL MVP grudge match between the duo has been a bit of dud.

Again, you'd admittedly rather be the Yankees right now and have Judge over Raleigh. Even accounting for his recent struggles, the five-time Silver slugger is tied-third in the majors with 16 home runs and has a .936 OPS. But a playoff contender struggling because its AL MVP candidate can't buy a hit? Yep, that sure sounds familiar…

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