Aaron Judge is in the midst of a special 2022 season. He is arguably the American League MVP front-runner at the moment. The New York Yankees superstar recently blasted his 51st home run of the year against the Los Angeles Angels. As eye-popping as his home run total is, Judge is doing more than hitting homers. He's slashing a very impressive .297/.398/.667 with a 1.064 OPS as of this story's publication. The home runs do stand out as Aaron Judge attempts to chase down Roger Maris for most long balls in a single season in Yankees franchise history.

Teammate Gerrit Cole shared a brutally honest reaction to Judge's incredible 2022 performance, via Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, that’s for damn sure,” Cole said.

Gerrit Cole is also enjoying a fine season in New York. He's the ace of the team and has an ERA just above 3.30 on the season. And he clearly understands how important Aaron Judge's effort has been to the ball club this year.

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The aspect of Judge's season that makes it even more impressive is the pressure that he was under coming into the year. The Yankees and Aaron Judge were rumored to be working on a contract extension. New York ended up making him an offer that he did not accept.

Aaron Judge was betting on himself.

Some people immediately questioned his decision to refuse guaranteed money. Others praised his choice. But he seems to have made the right decision.

Aaron Judge will aim to earn MVP honors while leading the Yankees to the World Series.