“Here come de Judge”. Those words were popularized and added to America’s everyday lexicon by that famous comedian Flip Wilson while performing on the riotous sketch comedy television program LAUGH IN back in the late 1960’s. The catchy phrase persists, mostly humorously, today.
We’re talking about a different “Here Comes De Judge” however. We’re talking about Aaron Judge, rookie outfield slugger for the New York Yankees. If you watched baseball’s All-Star game Tuesday evening, you saw Judge batting third in the American League lineup. He is the newest phenom in a long and storied line of Yankee sluggers. Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Reggie Jackson are used in the same sentence with Judge’s name.
Most of America hasn’t heard of Judge yet but, get ready, “Here come de Judge!”Judge is 6’7”, 282 pounds of athleticism. Though he batted only .179 in 84-at bats in 2016, he has terrorized AL pitching this year. He has already broken the Yankees’ record for home runs by a rookie (besting Joe DiMaggio’s 29 with 34, BEFORE the All-Star break.) He won the All-Star game Home Run Derby on Monday before Tuesday’s game. At the break, he is hitting .297 with 34 home runs, 113 hits and 76 runs batted in. Truly All-Star numbers.
Judge is baseball’s answer to football’s Tim Tebow. An All-American youngster whose athletic exploits are off the charts. Like Tebow, Judge is a Christian and has posted about his faith on his Twitter account. Will America’s press and the Liberal Left treat Judge differently than they have Tebow? We can only hope so. Judge has now stepped into the spotlight on one of the world’s biggest stages: playing for the New York Yankees.
Is America ready for “De Judge”? Is America ready for a new athletic hero? Is Judge ready to be that guy? Right now it is the early stages of the honeymoon. He’s not yet been disparaged for being strong in his faith. He’s not yet been misquoted.
America, get ready. “Here Comes De Judge!”
CHALK TALK
— Many would be happy if the Royals’ final series before the all-Star break was a purveyor of the World Series. A match between the Royals and Dodgers. That’s okay but our Boys in Blue got swept by the Dodgers 3-0 to put a damper on things as we get ready for this second half of the season. Still, the Royals have us feeling waay better than they did in late May
— The Larned Babe Ruth baseball team swept through the Zone tournament last week to move into state tournament play this week. That continued a strong tradition of Larned baseball throughout the years. Larned’s High School and American Legion teams have been top notch over the previous five years.
— The Great Bend Bat Cats have righted themselves after getting off to a slow start. If you want to see some great college-level baseball, catch a home game with these guys!
— Wichita Shocker basketball fans will have to reset their GPS machines for their conference basketball tournament come March. For years fans have traveled to St.Louis for the Missouri Valley “Arch Madness”. In their new conference “digs” the Shocker fans will be traveling to Memphis for the American Athletic Conference tournament. Hey, it’s a good trade off. They’ve got great barbecue in Memphis!
— The NFL has loosened its rules on end zone celebrations but kept the ban on those that are overtly sexual. Huh? I guess I need a demonstration!
Buddy Tabler is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune and his views don’t necessarily reflect those of the paper. He can be reached at budtabler@gmail.com.
