Charley Walters: Scouting Yankees’ Judge was very inexact science

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge began the weekend hitting .390 with 26 home runs and 60 runs batted in in 68 games this season.

In 10 seasons with the Yankees, Judge has hit 341 homers.

Tim McIntosh, the former Hopkins and Gophers star catcher, played for the Yankees, then scouted for the Yankees for three years (2001-03). He scouted Judge multiple times in high school and college.

“I hadn’t seen this kid play, so I go out and look at him. He’s a senior in (Linden, Calif.) high school, and he’s big (6-foot-7), but not that strong,” McIntosh told the Pioneer Press last week. “They didn’t even have a street light in his town. I tricked my west coast cross-checker (scout) to come in and look at him, because he wasn’t on my list of top guys. He even said that’s not great.

“So I put him in the system (report) that he’s big and you never know what’s going to happen. He’s got some ability, but he’s not ready, and he should go to college.

“We’ve got (other teams) cross-checkers coming in, and my buddy from Boston (Red Sox scout) looks at me as we’re watching him take BP (batting practice) and he goes ‘what am I supposed to do with this guy? They flew me all the way across the country to see this guy? He can’t play.’ ”

Three years later (2017), when Judge was en route to becoming American League Rookie of the Year, McIntosh spotted the Red Sox scout at a minor league ballpark and jokingly asked how they had done on their reports on Judge.

“He said, ‘I’m lucky to have a job,’ ” McIntosh said.

The only team to draft Judge out of high school in 2010 was the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round.

“His mom said he wants something like $500,000 to sign,” McIntosh said.

Oakland wasn’t going to pay that, so Judge opted for Fresno State.

“We all (scouts) thought he can’t hit a slider, he’s not going (to make it),” McIntosh said. “I did some homework, and I found out through the family that his dad was a football player at Michigan State and played in the NFL. His mom was a softball player, they gave him up for adoption, so I knew there was some athleticism.

“But are you going to take that big of a flyer on a big guy who couldn’t hit the ball out of the high school field? He didn’t hit one ball out of the park for me (when scouted). So it’s tricky at that age.”

Two years later, McIntosh scouted Judge at Fresno State.

“Judge hit a ball so hard then that I thought if it hit (the pitcher) in the head, his head would have blown up,” he said.

Scouting remains an inexact science.

The Yankees, who had three first-round picks in the 2013 draft, chose Judge No. 32 overall. He received a $1.8 million signing bonus. In 2024, he signed a $360 million, nine-year contract with the Yankees.

The Twins play the Yankees Aug. 11-14 in New York. By then, Judge, 33, could have 40 home runs.

— These days, McIntosh, 60, resides in Golden Valley and is a successful realtor for the Fazendin company.

— Hoping the best for San Diego Padres scout Mark Merila, 53, the three-time Gophers All-America infielder who was diagnosed with brain cancer 31 years ago and is back undergoing experimental chemotherapy.

— The “AE1” endorsement shoe of the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards is the No. 1 seller of all Adidas models.

— Edina senior outfielder Ben Molitor, son of hall of famer Paul Molitor, is headed to Winona State.

— Bob Paradise, the Cretin grad who played eight seasons (1971-79) in the NHL, is watching the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Today’s NHL players compared to his era?

“Night and day,” said Paradise, 81. “These guys are so damn good. The guys now, when they shoot the puck, they knock the glass out of the building. They can all shoot like crazy. Their passes are like slap shots. Bigger, faster, stronger, all of that applies to these guys now.

“And they train 11 months — they take a month off after this, and they’re back at it. After a game, we used to drink 10 beers. Now, they’re drinking lemonade and orange juice. They’re eating pasta before a game. We were eating steak, which they say is the worst thing you can eat, then play a game. That’s like dropping a bowling ball in your stomach. And they’re watching film for a couple hours a day. They‘re intense.

“They got it all figured out now.”

— During his era, Paradise was among the toughest fighters in the NHL.

Somebody once said he was 25-0 in NHL fights. I asked Paradise if that were true.
“I don’t know about the 25,” he said, “but I do know about the 0.”

Today, Paradise resides in St. Paul, retired from a successful real estate career.

— That was Utah Mammoth scout Mike Guentzel, in a foursome with son Jake of the Tampa Bay Lightning, acing the 197-yard No. 16 hole with a 7-wood at Stone Ridge Golf Club the other day, his second career ace.

— Condolences to the family of St. Paul sportsman Tim Giuliani, 77, who died last week after a recent heart attack.

— Rocco Baldelli said rookie pitcher Travis Adams took his demotion from the Twins to St. Paul well last week when the Minnesota manager informed him. Not everybody takes demotions well.

“You see all kinds of stuff — every conversation’s very different,” Baldelli said. “You’ve got to be as honest as you can. Most of the guys are in the range of emotional and understanding. No one wants to be told they’re going down to Triple-A or potentially even worse. I try to take time with guys, especially when I have guys I know will take it to heart. I want them to leave in a good headspace, one way or another.”

— Two of baseball’s best storytellers — Tim Tschida and Jim Kaat — will chat next week on the upstart “Tim Tschida, The Show” podcast on the OIC Network.

Tschida, the former major league umpire crew chief from St. Paul, had former pitcher Curt Schilling as an entertaining first guest.

— Former Twins pitcher Tom Johnson, who is Mission Director of the Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, in two weeks leaves for Slovakia, where he conducts popular youth baseball programs.

— That’s highly accomplished Mark Boyle, St. Louis Park High grad and son of former WTCN-TV sports anchor Joe, broadcasting the NBA Finals for the Indiana Pacers, for whom he has magnificently called games the past 37 seasons.

— For a fifth time, former St. Paul Central and Southwest State quarterback Jeff Loots is on the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

— Croke Park in Dublin, where the Vikings on Sept. 28 will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first regular season NFL game in Ireland, has a natural grass playing surface. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the Vikings will play the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 5, has a combined natural-synthetic grass surface.

— Ethan Stade, a 6-4 junior left-hander at Minnesota State Mankato, struck out 26 of 27 outs — including three on nine pitches one inning and three on 10 pitches another inning — for the New Ulm Brewers in a recent 5-0 town ball victory over Bird Island, which perennially is a state tournament contender.

“At any level it’s amazing for an individual to strike out that many,” Minnesota State coach Matt Majers said in an understatement. “Really remarkable.”

Stade, 21, a New Ulm High grad, will pitch for the Northwoods League Willmar Stingers the second half of this summer. He features a fastball in the upper-80s with a slider.

Also the other day, sophomore right-hander Landon Sanderson of Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial High struck out 21 of 21 outs in a 7-0 victory over St. Clair.

— The NFL’s Horrigan writers award, representing cooperation with media and won by Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell in 2025, was won in 1998 by another classy coach, Tampa Bay’s Tony Dungy.

— Among speakers at the Professional Football Researchers Association national convention July 10-13 in St. Paul will be former Viking Leo Lewis and former Gopher-Packer Darrell Thompson.

— After a 17-hour bus trip to Auburn, N.Y., for the Junior College World Series, the Century College (White Bear Lake) Wood Ducks, for which ex-Boston Red Sox pitcher Dana Kiecker from Fairfax is a volunteer bench coach, knocked off No. 1-ranked SUNY Niagara, which was 49-0, in the Division III JC nationals. Century was 44-9.

— That was Waseca baseball legend Tink Larson, 83, catching an inning for the town team Waseca Braves against the Austin Blue Jays the other day.
“No big deal — it doesn’t bother me to go back there,’’ said Larson, who is assistant coach for five area teams this season. “If the ball’s in the strike zone, I can catch it.”

— Presumed Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez headlines the Morrie Miller Athletic Foundation banquet in Winona on Sept. 13.

Don’t print that

— A little birdie says the Wild and star Karill Kaprizov are closing in on a new mega-deal.

— Barring injuries, if the Vikings were to consider any QB changes among their current foursome of J.J. McCarthy, Sam Howell, Brett Rypien and Max Brosmer, those likely would come by mid-August at the latest. The team plays its first two exhibition games on Aug. 9 vs. Houston and Aug. 16 vs. New England and have two scrimmages against the Patriots leading up to the Aug. 16 game.

— The Vikings are paying Howell, the backup to McCarthy, $1.1 million this season. McCarthy’s deal is worth $4.97 million. The Vikings paid Sam Darnold $10 million last season.

— Some smart football people figured Aaron Rodgers, 41, prolonged signing with the Steelers because he still had a glimmer of hope of joining the Vikings. The Steelers 10 days ago signed Rodgers for $13.65 million for one year.

— A notable Minneapolis baseball family with major league experience has recently expressed interest in forming a group to buy the Twins.

— Compounding dollars since the Pohlad family bought the Twins from Calvin Griffith for $44 million in 1984, the return on the investment over 40 years is about 13 percent.

— Chet Holmgren, 23, who while at Minnehaha Academy used to get free meals from a nearby Burger King, is playing in the NBA Finals for Oklahoma City for $10.9 million and is under contract next season for $13.8 million. If his output continues at present pace, in a couple of years those salaries will seem paltry.

— As part of the $1.5 billion sale transaction of the Timberwolves-Lynx, Glen Taylor’s remaining six limited partners will be required to sell their shares via what’s known in business as a “drag along” contract clause. It turns out to be a nice investment for the minority partners — Taylor paid just $88 million on a handshake deal for the Wolves in 1994.

— During the NBA playoffs in Minneapolis, Rodriguez and Lore sat courtside at Target Center directly across from Taylor, who in February lost the franchises via an arbitration ruling.

Taylor, by the way, is Minnesota’s wealthiest resident ($2.9 billion) in Forbes’ new national rankings of the United States’ richest people by state. The Mankato resident’s wealth is about to grow to nearly $4.5 billion with the sale of the Wolves and Lynx.

He has been asked by several business interests if he has an interest in buying the Twins, and has told the Pioneer Press he first wants to see how the basketball sale ends up.

— Even Taylor, 84, concedes that Target Center, the second oldest arena in the NBA next to Madison Square Garden, needs to be replaced. That possibility, though, became remote last week with St. Paul’s renouncement of even a remodeling of Xcel Energy Center.

A new arena and surrounding real estate development is paramount to sustained profitability for Rodriguez and Lore.

— The New York Knicks fired ex-Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau, 67, with $30 million left on his contract.

— The Timberwolves, who have little money to spend, need a point guard. Tyus Jones, 29, the former Apple Valley star, played this season for the NBA minimum $2.1 million for the Phoenix Suns, averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range. He’s a free agent who probably would cost the Wolves only the same minimum next season.

— Canada native Marc-Andre Fleury, the recently retired Wild goaltender who told the Pioneer Press that in retirement he and his family will reside in the Twin Cities, is linked to an $8.9 million, 5,223-square foot home sale in Wayzata, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal point out.

— Whether it was political (tariffs) is unknown, but the recent three-game Twins weekend series against Toronto, which usually produces an ample amount of fans from Canada (tourist buses from Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and even Saskatchewan), was noticeably fewer than usual.

Friday’s attendance was an underwhelming 26,847, Saturday a disappointing 23,476 and Sunday just 22,028. Last season, an August 30-Sept. 1 series against the Blue Jays in Minneapolis drew 24,500, 32,700 and 30,500.

— Best in-state prospect for major league baseball’s amateur draft in four weeks is Gophers outfielder Drew Berkland, who’s regarded at the fringe of the 10th round in the 20-round draft.

— Some University of St. Thomas football rooters are wondering why the Tommies scheduled powerful Lindenwood, which plays the Gophers in 2027, for their season home opener Aug. 28, then even more powerful North Dakota State on the road for their season closer on Nov. 22.

— During the recent Twins-Royals series at Target Field, Kansas City first baseman Vinny Pasquantino, after chasing a pop foul ball, asked a fan eating a hamburger in the front row if he could have a quick bite.

— It looks like two from among Byron Buxton, Jhoan Duran and Joe Ryan will represent the Twins in the All-Star Game in Atlanta on July 15, but not all three.

Overheard

— Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, asked how far he has thrown a football: “Not recently, but in high school 78 or 80 (yards). But it was a windy day.”