Aaron Judgein Saturday’s 9-3 loss to the Blue Jays, joined Yankees legends Lou Gehrig And Sweetie Ruth as the franchise’s third-ever player with 80 RBI before July.
In Sunday’s 8-1 win over Toronto (38-45) that saw New York (54-32) split the four-game series, Judge continued his historic start with a two-run home run.
While the Yankees appear to be turning the corner after struggling in the second half of June, he leads the MLB with 31 home runs and 82 RBI.
“He’s in that company all the time now,” the manager said Aaron Boone. “It’s incredible what he’s doing. It really is. Kind of a boring 2-for-4 today with one hit from the batter’s eye. He’s in those conversations all the time now with Gehrig and Ruth and whatever superlative you want. He continues to put himself in those conversations.”
I agree with Boone’s sentiments: Gleyber Torres explained how the Yankees are capitalizing on the captain’s energy heading into July.
“It’s awesome,” Torres said. “It’s not a surprise to anybody. When he’s healthy, he can do everything he can do. And it’s very special. … He’s a leader, so it’s awesome. I’m so happy to be playing with him and he keeps rolling.”
While New York battles the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot in the AL East, Judge – in the running for the Triple Crown with a .316 batting average – is the MLB’s best, along with Shohei Ohtani — doesn’t pay much attention to the individual accolades.
“It would be cool, but it’s just not my focus,” Judge said. “Like a lot of guys in this room, we don’t play for stuff like that. We play to win. Every time you put on these pinstripes and wear the NY, you’re here to win. So if that’s part of it It would be great, but we are all focused on winning the championship.”
