Aaron Judge launched his season-leading 49th MLB home run, helping the New York Yankees secure a 3-0 triumph over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
In the sixth inning, Judge connected for his fourth consecutive home run, sending a 388-foot ball to left-center field off pitcher Kyle Freeland (now 3-6). Earlier in the game, Judge had grounded into a double play and hit a line out.
During his final plate appearance in the eighth inning, with 38,910 fans chanting “M-V-P! M-V-P!”, Judge popped out to third base.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone remarked, “It’s hard to wrap your head around it. I get asked about it all the time, not just during press conferences but also by people approaching me. I’m running out of things to say.
“You’re witnessing greatness. He truly is remarkable. He stands above everyone else.” Recently, Judge has hit eight home runs in his last 11 games and 17 in his last 34. He is just one home run away from becoming only the fifth player in history to achieve three 50-home run seasons. Among Yankees, Babe Ruth is the only other player with three such seasons. Judge boasts an OPS of 1.192. Since World War II, only five players have recorded a higher OPS over an entire season: Barry Bonds (four times), Ted Williams and Mark McGwire (twice each), and Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell (once each).
Aaron Judge
Judge commented with a smile, “It doesn’t feel real; I try not to think about it. Even when people mention many of the Yankees greats—Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Roger Maris, Babe Ruth—it’s tough to fully comprehend or even think about.”
Judge is on pace to match the 62 home runs he hit in 2022, when he set the American League record previously held by the late Yankees legend Roger Maris from 1961.
Teammate Giancarlo Stanton stated, “He’s done it before, so we can’t be surprised. And we’ve got plenty of time for him to achieve even more impressive feats.”
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