The New York Yankees (40-19) have played terrific baseball over the first two-plus months of the season, and they currently lead the American League East by 2.0 games over the defending champion Baltimore Orioles. One of the main reasons has been their success with the bat, and no one has been hotter than outfielder Aaron Judge.
He closed May by hitting two home runs against the Giants in San Francisco, the team he grew up rooting for as a child. He was on fire in May, hitting 14 home runs and 12 doubles while driving in 27 runs. His 26 extra-base hits are the most by a Yankees player in a month since July 1937, when Joe DiMaggio had 31.
This is only the eighth occasion since World War II that a big leaguer has had so many extra-base hits in a single month.
“It’s hard to wrap your brain around what he’s doing,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He just sort of does his thing. He’s just so constant in who he is as a person, as a player, and in how he goes about things. It’s really fun to get to see it.”
As a result of his rise, Judge has emerged as the favorite in the American League MVP contest. FanDuel lists Judge as the plus-250 favorite to win the award, which puts him slightly ahead of teammate Juan Soto at plus-270. Other candidates in the race are Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals (+550), Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles (+550), Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros (+700), and Jose Ramirez (+2500).
Judge earns the admiration of his teammates
The Yankees won the first game of the series against the Giants, 6-2. Marcus Stroman, the starting pitcher, won the win after allowing only two runs in 7.1 innings. He has been really impressed with Judge’s performance at the plate.
“He’s incredible,” Stroman stated. “It’s difficult to put into words, but he definitely gives the entire squad some energy and motivation when he keeps going off. He is clearly doing his part. As a result, everyone else is motivated to do even more for the team. “He’s definitely locked in.”
Judge has a.282/.408/.648 batting line after 59 games this season. His slugging percentage leads the American League. In addition, he leads the league with 20 home runs and 18 doubles. Judge has 45 RBIs, 40 runs scored, and a league-high 45 walks.
Soto has also had a terrific debut season with the Yankees. Soto is slicing.311/.413/.578 while playing excellent right field. He’s hit 15 home runs and driven in 49 runs. He has 70 hits for the Yankees and has scored 42 runs.
