Shortly before the Yankees beat the Rockies, 3-0, on Friday night, Aaron Boone raised eyebrows with a comment on Aaron Judge, a player who entered the day with four homers in his last three games.
“The amazing part about what Aaron’s doing is I don’t even necessarily feel like he’s on fire right now or anything,” Boone said, adding a faint chuckle that acknowledged Judge’s ridiculousness. “I just feel like he’s just this good.”
Colorado got a taste of Judge’s prowess a few hours later, as MLB’s home run leader clubbed his 49th dinger off Kyle Freeland in the sixth inning. The solo shot gave Judge five homers in his last four games, seven in his last eight, 10 in his last 19, 14 in his last 25, and 45 in his last 100.
Not bad for a guy who supposedly isn’t on fire, a claim Boone repeated in his postgame presser.
“I’m kind of running out of words to say,” the manager added. “You’re witnessing greatness. I mean, you really are. He’s just kind of better than everyone.”
#AllRise and maybe just stay risen.
FORTY-NINE home runs for Aaron Judge. pic.twitter.com/Je4x6KzpBz
— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2024
Judge took a different approach to evaluating his absurd run – “Once we get locked in, I’ll let you guys know,” he said in typical fashion – but Thursday’s jack put him on a 62-homer pace. That’s the same number Judge hit when he reset the American League’s single-season record during an MVP campaign in 2022.
“He’s done it before, so we can’t be surprised,” Giancarlo Stanton said. “And we’ve got plenty of time for him to do even more impressive things, so stay the course. We got time.”
Having already toppled Roger Maris once, Judge has a real shot at becoming just the third player in history with multiple 60-homer seasons. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa also accomplished the feat.
Judge has positioned himself for a second MVP award as well, as he is also leading the majors in RBI (119), OBP (.464) and slugging (.728). He’s second in average (.333).
Only Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. (.348 at the time of publication) has a higher average than Judge, and the center fielder’s slugging percentage is higher than the league’s .713 OPS.
As great as the numbers are, Boone said there should be added appreciation when considering the era Judge is playing in.
McGwire, Sosa and Barry Bonds, the all-time home run king, thrived when performance-enhancing drugs were running rampant in the sport. Meanwhile, Maris and Babe Ruth, the first two members of the 60-homer club, didn’t have to face the high-velocity, side-winding stuff that Judge sees from modern pitchers.
“It’s important to [note] the hitting climate that we’re in,” Boone said, adding that Judge has gotten better at controlling the zone. “All that context matters. When I was playing, you saw teams with .800 OPS’s. You don’t really see that right now. So what he’s doing in this time, getting back to .713 being the average [OPS] right now, yeah, I think that context is important.”
Speaking of Bonds, Gerrit Cole dropped the name while discussing Judge after Thursday’s game. Coincidentally, Judge’s 45 homers over his last 100 games would put him on a 73-homer pace over 162 games.
Bonds set the all-time single-season record with 73 bombs in 2001.
“Barry Bonds was probably, arguably, the best hitter ever to have played baseball,” Carlos Rodón said after starting Friday. “That’s high praise for Aaron. I mean, I can definitely see it, for sure.”
Judge, who grew up watching Bonds in the Bay Area, wasn’t having it.
“It’s not real,” he said of the comps. “I try not to think about it. Even when they would say a lot of the Yankee greats here like [Mickey] Mantle, [Joe] DiMaggio, Maris, Babe Ruth, it’s tough to comprehend or even think about. So I don’t think about it and keep going.
“I love how easy [Bonds] made the game look on the offensive side and defensive side. He would get one pitch a night and hit it out of the park. I’m definitely not there at that point. I’m just trying to be like him and a lot of guys. He was the greatest to ever do it, so I can’t really compare to that.”
While only Judge inspired the mention of legendary hitters, he wasn’t the only Yankee to take Freeland deep on Friday, as Stanton also homered for the second straight day. He now has 22 home runs following a bases-empty blast in the fourth inning.
“Definitely good to see G being a menace in the middle,” Boone said.
The Yankees scored an additional run in the fifth when Ryan McMahon made an error on a Gleyber Torres groundball, allowing Anthony Volpe to score.
Meanwhile, Rodón twirled a strong bounce-back start after allowing four earned runs over 3.1 innings his last time out.
The lefty got back on track Friday, blanking the basement-dwelling Rockies for six innings. Rodón surrendered four hits and walked one while striking out five over 102 pitches. He also lowered his ERA to 4.16.
Rodón, Nestor Cortes and Gerrit Cole have now combined for 19 straight scoreless innings from Yankees starters.
“I think we do feed off each other,” Rodón said. “We want to perform just as good as the next guy. We’re almost competing against each other. Just keep throwing up those zeros. You don’t want to be the guy that gives up the run.”
With a win in the books and Judge chasing history once again, it will be interesting to see what Yankees greats of the past think of the slugger on Saturday. The Yankees are hosting the 76th Old-Timers’ Day and honoring their 2009 championship team.
Alex Rodriguez, a prolific home run hitter himself, will be a first-time attendee. Derek Jeter, the Yankees’ last captain before Judge, is also returning.
“I was talking with Jeter the other night,” Judge said. “He told me he was coming in, so pretty excited about that. I get a chance to talk with him in person. It’s been a minute.
“You can always learn something from those guys. They won a championship here. A lot of the guys in this room have not won a championship. You can always pick up something from them, if it’s mindset, a thought, an approach, just anything. That’s what’s always cool about Old-Timers’ Day and playing for the Yankees. Those guys always come around and they’re always happy and willing to share some info.”
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