New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper are two of the greatest players baseball has ever seen. That fact has only been further confirmed this summer, as the two each made MLB history with their respective monthly awards.
Judge and Harper each won AL and NL Players of the Month, respectively, for the second time in a row. This is the first time since 1974 that the same winners have been named back-to-back, via Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb of The Score.
“Judge is the 11th AL player to claim the monthly award in consecutive months and the first Yankee to do it since Don Mattingly in August and September of 1985,” Sharkey-Gotlieb said. “The 32-year-old may have outdone himself in June, hitting .409/.514/.864 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs over 25 games. Judge now owns eight lifetime Player of the Month honors.”
Judge currently leads the league in batting average (.321), home runs (32), RBI (83), and OPS (1.158). The six-time All-Star could win the Quadruple Crown if he stays on this pace, which would be the first one since Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastremzki did it in 1967.
Harper's campaign has been nothing to sneeze at either, though.
“Harper's the 10th NL player with back-to-back Player of the Month wins and the first since Andrew McCutchen in 2012.,” Sharkey-Gotlieb continued. “The two-time MVP hit safely in 20 of 23 games in June while posting a .374/.452/.714 line with seven homers, 16 RBIs, and 17 extra-base hits before landing on the IL with a hamstring strain.”
The former Washington National is hitting .303 with 20 homers and 58 RBI, while also sporting a fifth-ranked .981 OPS. However, his momentum will be temporarily halted while he's on the 10-day IL.
Could these two baseball titans meet in the World Series?
Judge may dominate the MLB, but the Phillies are red-hot
While Judge is once again having an other-worldly year, New York is in danger of having another 2022 scenario. Although he won the AL MVP with a 62-homer season, the Yankees got swept in the ALCS due to a lack of reliable support around him.
Although the squad currently sits one game behind the Baltimore Orioles at 54-33, it sputtered to a 14-13 June record after a hot start. The 2022 Yankees had a similar trajectory, so it could spell trouble for their October hopes.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, has been more consistent. The squad sports an MLB-best 56-29 mark, and their core position players are all close to returning, via MLB.com.
“Harper jogged on July 2 at Wrigley Field, which is another step in his progression,” the site reported. “Manager Rob Thomson said there's a “good chance” that he will return before the All-Star break. ‘I don’t think they’re too far away,' Thomson said about Harper, Schwarber and Realmuto.”
Judge's campaign may be outpacing Harper's, but the Phillies may be a safer bet to win it all.
