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The New York Yankees have been playing inspired baseball as of late, thanks in large part to how electric Aaron Judge has been at the plate. Judge has been hitting home runs left and right, having him on pace to surpass the AL home run record he set two years ago. However, on Tuesday night, Judge showed that he too can play one of the most difficult positions in baseball, center field, at a high level — showing off his fielding skills this time around in a 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals.
In the bottom of the second inning, Judge already showed that it was going to be a good day for him at center field as he made a leaping catch at the warning track. But in the fourth, the Yankees star one-upped himself. He tracked a hard-hit ball to left-center field from Andres Chaparro, and it looked as though the ball was going to scale the wall. But not on Judge's watch. He robbed Chaparro of a home run, and not just that, he ended the inning by starting a double play.
At this point, Yankees manager Aaron Boone is running out of superlatives to describe just how incredible of a player Aaron Judge is even without carrying the offense on his back like he usually does.
“He's really good at this stuff. So the night they keep him in the ballpark, he takes one back from the other side. Just little reminder of how many other things he does well,” Boone said, per Gary Phillips of NY Daily News Sports.
It's not too often these days that Aaron Judge fails to record an extra-base hit. But the Nationals somehow kept Judge quiet, holding him to just a single and a walk in five plate appearances on the night — a tame performance by the Yankees star's standards. Regardless, Judge's impact was as loud as ever.
Judge began his career as a right fielder, but the arrival of Juan Soto meant that he was always going to play center field for the Yankees in 2024. He may not be an elite defender at the position, but the 32-year-old has shown that he is more than capable of holding his own at the most difficult outfield position. He truly is a marvel, and arguably the best baseball player in the world today.
Aaron Judge takes a bit of an offensive backseat in Yankees' win
For much of the 2024 season, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have been doing the heavy lifting for the Yankees' offense. However, that dynamic duo proceeded to go 1-8 against the Nationals on Tuesday, with Soto only reaching base via one walk. That may usually spell disaster for New York, but the supporting cast stepped up this time around.
Three different Yankees hit home runs on Tuesday, with Gleyber Torres, Austin Wells, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all going yard. Wells continues to be a revelation behind the plate, Chisholm's acquisition has worked out as well as intended, while Torres showed that he still has some pop left on his bat despite a down year.
Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo also had themselves quite a night. They each had three hits, with Volpe scoring twice; most impressively, Verdugo was on a roll, tallying only his third three-hit night of the season (with four plate appearances). This is exactly what the Yankees need moving forward — more contributions from the rest of the lineup.
