Aaron Judge is on a home run pace that no player has ever been able to match. The huge Yankee outfielder and captain of the team belted the 350th home run of his career in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs. He has reached that milestone faster than any other player.
Yankee manager Aaron Boone was somewhat subdued after the Yankees saw their five-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the National League Central leaders. However, he demonstrated that he is clearly in awe of what Judge has been able to accomplish in his career with the Yankees.
“I don’t know what to say about it,” Boone said, “because I just think he’s playing in a different league.”
Judge has reached that level in the 1,088th game of his career. Mark McGwire had been the pace setter prior to Judge, and he belted his 350th home run in the 1,280th game of his career.
Judge was happy with his achievement, but he was hoping that it would have come in a Yankee victory. “Would have been great if we got a win today. I've been surrounded by a lot of great teammates, been on some good teams, so they really put me in the best position to go out there and perform at my best.”
Judge has been carrying the Yankees most of the season
The Yankees were in first place for the majority of the season, but they were passed by the Toronto Blue Jays and they are in second place in the American League East. They have a 53-42 record with one game to go before the All-Star break and they are 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays and 2.0 games ahead of the surging Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays have won 9 of their last 10 games, while the Red Sox have won 9 straight games. The Yankees are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Judge is having a remarkable season for the Yankees. In addition to his 35 home runs, he has driven in 71 runs and scored a league-leading 85 runs. He is slashing .354/.462/.725. He has received 69 base on balls, and 24 of those have been intentional.
While dominating the American League with his explosive offensive showing, he also has been playing eye-catching defense in right field. Judge robbed Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong of a home run Friday and also made a diving catch in the outfield in that game.
Judge will try to add to his impressive offensive numbers in Sunday's series finale against the Cubs. Chicago lefthander Shota Imanaga has a 5-3 record with a 2.80 earned run average and a 0.98 WHIP in 61 innings on the mound. He will try to slow Judge down and give the Cubs the victory in the three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
