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Despite his height, Aaron Judge receives a raw deal.

In the fourth inning of Wednesday’s afternoon match in Arizona, Aaron Judge smashed his first home run of the 2024 season. Despite it being only six games into the season, it felt like a dry spell for someone of his caliber, and hopefully, the trademark opposite-field blast marks the end of his brief slump. Prior to this homer against the Diamondbacks, Judge had only managed a 3-for-29 record with a double, signaling an uncharacteristic downturn. Amidst this, we witnessed yet another instance of the persistent issue that has plagued him throughout his career: called strikes below the zone.

Standing at a towering 6-foot-7, Judge faces a notably distinct strike zone compared to the average player. Major League Baseball defines the zone as the area over home plate from the midpoint between a batter’s shoulders and the top of the uniform pants to a point just below the kneecap. While the definition may be verbose, the general parameters are well understood. However, for someone of Judge’s stature, the “point just below the kneecap” is considerably higher from the ground compared to shorter batters like Jose Altuve or most others an umpire deals with.

Given these factors, it’s understandable how umpires might err in Judge’s case. While the difference in strike zone height is typically minimal from one batter to another, with Judge, it becomes starkly evident. Despite discussions on this issue dating back a couple of years, and with mounting evidence, little seems to have changed.

A notable example from Tuesday’s game against Zac Gallen highlighted this disparity. Though Judge offered some resistance, the call stood, leaving him at a disadvantage once again. Unfortunately, this instance was not an anomaly.

These are just a few isolated instances from the beginning of this year and the previous season, but they underscore the discrepancy Judge faces. While his strike zone is notably higher than that of most batters, his calls do not consistently reflect this fact. Moreover, it appears he bears the brunt of this discrepancy more frequently than others.