JOSH JUDY from That Baseball Powerhouse Indiana Tech
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JOSH JUDY From that baseball powerhouse Indiana Tech BIRTH NAME: Josh Steven Judy PRONUNCIATION OF DIFFICULT PARTS: None NICKNAME: None HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’4” 210 lbs. BORN: Feb. 9, 1986, in Morgantown, West Virginia POSITION: Pitcher YEARS ACTIVE IN THE MAJORS: 2011 NAME ETYMOLOGY/DEFINITIONS: “Josh” is a truncated variant of “Joshua,” which means “God is salvation” in Hebrew; it is borne in the Bible by the Israelite leader who took command of the Children of Israel after the death of Moses and led them, after many battles, to take possession of the Promised Land. It is derived from the Hebrew “Yehoshua.” The name was a common alternative form of the name “Yēšūă” which corresponds to the Greek “Iesous,” from which, through the Latin “Iesus,” comes the English spelling Jesus. “Steven” (and its more common variant) “Stephen” are derived from Greek Stéphanos, a first name from the Greek word stéphanos, meaning “wreath, crown” and by extension “reward, honor, renown, fame,” from the verb stéphein, “to encircle, to wreathe.” As a surname, “Judy” may be an Americanized spelling of the French surname “Judet,” a pet form of “Jude.” Josh Judy played his high school baseball for University H.S. in Morgantown, leading them to the West Virginia state baseball tournament for the first time in over 40 years. He also helped lead the Morgantown Post 2 American Legion team to the Mid-Atlantic Regional. He played collegiate baseball at Indiana Tech, where he was coached by former Reds farmhand Randy Stegall. After an All-American season, Judy was selected in the 34th round (1034th pick overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. He made the standard “level per year” progression through the minors, strictly as a reliever. During his first three years in the minors, he held batters to less than a hit per inning, less than a home run per nine innings, and a K/9 rate that zoomed from 7.5 to 11.7. There was some conjecture as to whether Judy would break camp with the big club to start 2010. The thought was that Judy would be one of the first non-rostered relievers – if not the first – to be called up during the season. Unfortunately for him, an injury at the end of spring training – he pulled a muscle in his arm and strained the UCL in his right elbow – shelved him for the first month and a half of the season. The injury set Judy back and opportunity knocked for other non- rostered relievers. “It was my last outing of spring training,” Judy recalled about the injury. “I got through the first inning no problem and got two outs in the second inning but the last guy I threw a slider and I just felt something tighten up and a pull feeling. I ended up finishing the inning and then got shutdown from there. It was probably bound to happen eventually as it was only a matter of time. I had been on a high up to that point and that kind of slowed everything down.” After the 2010 season split between AA Akron and AAA Columbus, Judy was added to the Indians’ 40- man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Before the 2011 season started, there were still high hopes for Judy as the potential “next big thing” in the Tribe bullpen. He was a pretty talented and projectable relief pitcher armed with two plus pitches, a fastball that sat 91-93 and touched 96, and a wicked slider. He had all the makings of a big-league bullpen arm, potentially in the backend because of his aggressiveness and bulldog mentality. On May 21, 2011, Judy was called up from AAA Columbus. He made his Major League debut a day later in the Indians’ 12-4 home victory over the Reds. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing two hits and striking out one batter. Four days later, after seeing action in only that one game, Judy was sent back to Columbus. Judy was recalled on July 1 and made his second appearance against the Reds two days later. He gave up his first run, a home run to Édgar Rentería, in two innings. One more appearance two days later, then it was back to the minors until the September call-ups. September saw him get fairly regular work, as he made nine appearances during the month. But he was hit early and often during his outings. In those nine appearances covering ten innings, he yielded ten runs on 14 hits, walking three, hitting four batters and allowing three more homers. Altogether, in 12 games with the Indians, he posted a 1.571 WHIP and a 7.07 ERA. Judy was designated for assignment on Dec. 16 and was claimed off waivers by the Reds a week later. In 2012 with the Reds’ AAA Louisville Bats club, he was 2-2 with a 6.99 ERA in 40 games, allowing 68 hits in 56⅔ innings. He was released on Nov. 5, 2012. After beginning 2013 with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, Judy signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, splitting the rest of the season between the AA Arkansas Travelers and the AAA Salt Lake Bees. Judy signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2014 and was assigned to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes. In 23 games, he was 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA. While with the Isotopes, he fractured his elbow while delivering a pitch. After spending 2015 with the York Revolution and playing in the Mexican Winter League, Judy signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican Baseball League for the 2016 season. He appeared in 50 games, finishing with a record of 3-4 with a 1.20 ERA. Judy signed a AAA contract with the Seattle Mariners in January 2017 but was released that March. Three weeks later, Judy signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican Baseball League, but they released him in early May. He cycled through a few more signings and releases in Mexican leagues, before once again signing with the York Revolution for the 2019 season. BEST DAY (BY WPA OR OTHER MEASURE): His big-league career lasted all of 12 games totaling 14 innings, all in relief, primarily in mop-ups/blowouts, with a 7.07 ERA. In his 12 appearances, there were only one “clean” (no baserunners) one. So, let’s pump that one up a bit. On Sep. 11, 2011 against the White Sox, he threw 11 pitches in relief of the boringly named Joe Smith, who himself had relieved Ubaldo Jiminez, who had 11 losses coming into the game. Sadly, Judy did not get to face Omar Vizquel, who wore number 11 for the White Sox that day. Also, the game started at … 1:12 (drat, missed it by a minute). Judy entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with the Indians leading 7-2. He retired the difficult-to-spell A.J. Pierzynski on a flyball to deep center, then got Dayan Viciedo on a similar flyball, and ended the inning by inducing a pop fly to short from Alex Rios. THE WONDER OF HIS NAME: You must love the short, snappy name and the alliteration. Bonus points for being a name made up of two first names, and those two typically assigned to different genders no less. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH: Josh Booty (Former third baseman for the Marlins), Punch and Judy hitter (A hitter with very little power. The first use of the term is attributed to Dodgers manager Walter Alston who, when asked about a home run by Willie McCovey, said: “When he belts a home run, he does it with such authority it seems like an act of God. You can’t cry about it. He’s not a Punch and Judy belter.”), Judyville (A small unincorporated community in Liberty Township, Warren County, Indiana, founded by John Finley Judy). FUN ANAGRAMS: Josh Steven Judy turns into “He just vends joy.” or “Joy! Jesus! Then V.D.” EPHEMERA: 1) Only three baseball players have ever been drafted from the school, and Judy is the only one to make it to the majors. 2) In 2011, Baseball America considered Judy’s slider the best in the Indians organization. .