Aaron Judge’s very bad October keeps on getting worse

Aaron Judge has been a letdown. There’s no other way to put it.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you.

You know who probably isn’t having a good morning? Aaron Judge.

His Yankees have all but lost the World Series after falling 3-0 to the Dodgers. This series, which felt like it had the potential to be one of the greats, but has undoubtedly been a complete dude so far outside of Freddie Freeman’s historic Grand Slam to win Game 1.

It’s never over until it’s over, obviously. But this one certainly feels over. That’s mainly because Judge has not played his part in making the Yankees the postseason powerhouse they should be. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but it’s true.

Judge’s batting average is a paltry .140 overall for the postseason. In the World Series so far, he’s a 1 for 12 with seven strikeouts and a walk. It’s been all bad for the likely AL MVP so far in these playoffs — especially in this World Series when the Yankees have desperately needed his bat.

It’s on him. He’s forcing things and chasing pitches out of the zone like he hasn’t done all season long, The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner writes. Judge’s chase rate was only 17.7 percent during the regular season, which meant he rarely swung at pitches out of the zone. That number has risen to 29.7 percent in the postseason. The guy seems to be in his own head right now.

It’s such a shame to see because, barring a miraculous comeback, the book on him will be the guy who couldn’t get it done for the Yankees when they needed it the most. It’ll be unfair because Judge is so much better than that. He’s proven himself as a historically great player. But when you fail at this stage, it tends to stick with you. Just ask Alex Rodriguez.

But he’s not the only great to struggle in the World Series. Plenty of greats have. I mean, just look across from him. Shohei Ohtani’s .091 World Series batting average is just as bad. But he also has Freeman on his side, who will probably be the World Series MVP at this point.

It’s baseball. Things happen. No matter where we go from here, this series shouldn’t be some indictment on Judge and who he is as a player.

But I’d be lying if I said this outcome so far hasn’t been extremely disappointing. Let’s hope it kicks up for however much longer we have to go.

First 50-ball of the season!

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

I’m not sure how many of you accurately predicted that Paolo Banchero would be the NBA’s first 50-point scorer of the season, but if you did, I hope you bet on it.

Banchero dropped 50 points (including a 37-point first half!) against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, completely dominating the game from start to finish.

The Magic needed every single one of Banchero’s buckets, too. The Magic only won by four points. What Banchero did was necessary.

It was a clinic in bucket-getting. Masterful stuff here from the 21-year-old.

He also played elite defense on the other end.

He looked like a combination of Giannis Anteokounmpo, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony all in one game. That’s a scary combination if you’re the rest of the league.

We’ll see if Paolo can keep this up. Let’s hope he does.

Nick Bosa’s stunt may cost him

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Bosa drew a lot of attention to himself by wearing a MAGA hat after the 49ers game on Sunday. It seems that some of that attention might be coming from the NFL.

He could possibly face a fine for it, our Charles Curtis writes. It seems to have been in clear violation of the NFL’s rules:

“Rule 5, Section 4, Article 8 of the NFL rulebook says that the entire time a player is ‘visible to the stadium and television audience,’ including during pregame warmups and in postgame interviews both on the field and in the locker room, they are ‘prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office.’”

Bosa could be fined the same way the league fined George Pickens for putting a message on his eye black. He’s using his attire to convey a personal message to the audience.

Hope it was worth it, Nick!

NICK BOSA’S COWARDICE: Bosa refused to talk about whatever statement he was trying to make with his hat on Sunday.

Quick hits: NFL Power Rankings … CFB’s Winners and Losers … and More

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea and Robert Zeglinski with their latest NFL Power Rankings, including a bit on the cooked Jets.

— Here’s Tyler Netunno with Week 9 Winners and Losers from the College Football world, including more Pitt’s awesome ACC season so far and LSU’s fumble.

— Dwyane Wade’s sculptor for his statue says we’re all tripping about his masterpiece. Honestly, you’ve got to respect the confidence. Andrew Joseph has more.

— Here’s Charles Curtis with more great trade advice for your fantasy football team. Listen to this man.

— Speaking of trades, here’s Cory Woodroof with five players the Giants should consider trading after falling to 2-6 on the year.

— Here’s Mary Clarke on Giancarlo Stanton’s slow gallop across the bases. This is hilarious.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a fantastic Tuesday. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️