Judging by his Twitter, Jose Canseco believes he's still a better slugger than Aaron Judge.
Canseco took shots at the Yankees outfielder on Twitter Thursday night, claiming that even at the age of 53 he still has more power than Judge. At least in terms of hitting a softball.
Before the Yankees took on the Blue Jays Thursday, Canseco said Judge was hitting baseballs off the bottom of the Jumbotron at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The former big league power hitter claimed he'd be hitting the top of the big board if he was the one taking swings.
Canseco sounds slightly bitter that Judge is taking baseball by storm and he chose to take his shot at Judge as the outfielder continues to struggle at the plate.
Despite being in a slump recently, the 25-year-old is batting .294 with 35 home runs and 78 RBIs this season. Judge also put on a clinic in the Home Run Derby to become this year's winner, forcing everyone to recognize him as one of the biggest young stars in the game.
Canseco once hit a baseball with the same power that Judge shows, but his career is tarnished thanks to his admission that he has used performance-enhancing drugs. The former Yankee smacked 462 home runs with 1,407 RBIs in his career, but it all comes with an asterisk.
Jose Canseco, in his pure and mostly hilarious Twitter
form, thinks he can outhit Aaron Judge. You may remember other such
Canseco Twitter gems such as dog puke, time travel being possible, and his nearly amputated finger after a poker night gone wrong.
This tweet seems different, though (if only slightly different), mostly because there are ways that this challenge could pan out in the real world without too much effort.
Canseco clearly knows his own limits here. He gives
himself a softball to hit rather than a baseball. While still difficult
to hit very far, it does give him a little bit of an advantage.
The other reason this tweet is great is that Jose plainly
presents his biggest weakness — his age — right in the tweet. He’s not
trying to pull one over on anyone here. He fully thinks that despite a
30-year age difference he could come out on top.
He’s so confident in this unlikely outcome that it makes
me want this to happen more than I otherwise would. Canseco is not
joking here, and if Judge were down for it there’s a good chance this
could be set up after the playoffs are over.
Canseco is already thinking about his ability to hit a softball for distance.
Who wouldn’t watch a two-man Home Run Derby in November for a charity of their choice? If Michael Phelps can fake-race a shark then we could put this together somehow.
Also, this is pretty convenient timing, Canseco. The kid
is in the middle of a vicious slump, after all. This hit-off needs to
happen once he’s back to full force to make everything fair.
Statistically though, this might be over before it gets started.
Canseco’s probably most notable home run, in the 1989 ALCS, is estimated to have traveled 443 feet,
not 500 feet or more as some have alleged over time. Just this season,
Judge hit a ball to the upper deck of Yankee Stadium that was estimated
at a whopping 496 feet.
So do I think that Conseco would actually win this little
exercise? Probably not. But in the midst of tweets about time travel
and “Would You Rather?” games, this is grounded in a way that his other
extemporaneous thoughts aren’t.
It will probably never happen, but what I’m saying is
give the man what he wants and make this happen. Make Judge prove
himself in the Canseco-Dome.
Jose Canseco ✔ @JoseCanseco
I bet I can hit a softball further than Aaron judge can hit a baseball and I am 30 years older than he is
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