We all know he can do it with his bat.
The glove work is also very nice.
While on a devastating streak at bat and threatening home run records again, Aaron Judge produced one of the best defensive plays of the season on Monday against the Washington Nationals.
With the Yankees leading 2-0 in the fourth inning, Nationals first baseman Andrés Chaparro hit a deep fly ball from Nestor Cortes that appeared to end up in the left-center-field stands. But Judge had other plans.
The Yankees center fielder followed the ball to the warning track and timed his jump perfectly. He caught the ball at the top of the wall, keeping it in the park. And he wasn’t done yet.
After he landed, Judge threw a strike to second base, where Gleyber Torres was waiting for the cutoff throw. Nationals outfielder James Wood had taken off from first base, expecting Chapparo’s ball to leave the park or land for a hit, and he didn’t get back to first in time.
Torres threw him out at first base, completing the double play that heroically saved Judge’s home run.
A camera angle behind the wall confirmed that the ball would indeed have left the field if Judge had not defended so well.
Thanks to this play, the Yankees kept their 2-0 lead intact and eventually won 5-2.
On Sunday, Judge hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season in a win over the Colorado Rockies. He now has 10 more home runs than MLB’s second-leading home run hitter, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter and NL MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani. Judge has surpassed the 50-home run mark for the third time in his nine-season MLB career.
With 30 games remaining on the Yankees’ schedule, Judge is in danger of breaking his own AL record of 62 home runs in a single season, set two seasons ago.
The fact that he also performs these kinds of actions in the outfield is just not fair.
