New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is happy to see his slugger Aaron Judge continuing to do so well. Boone is in awe of Judge's performance this season, which includes 44 home runs. Judge blasted another shot to the skies on Friday against the Detroit Tigers.
“[The Tigers] did a good job against him tonight,” Boone said, per MLB.com. “Really kept him off-base and kept it off the barrel. And then he does that, hits one 420 to center and gives us a little more breathing room. It's been remarkable to watch.”
New York defeated Detroit 3-0 behind Judge's offense. The Yankees are again back in first place in the American League East with a 73-50 record.
Aaron Judge is breaking records left and right this season
Judge is putting the Yankees on his back as the team makes a push to return to the postseason. The Yankees slugger is also the leading candidate to win the MVP award of the American League this season.
Judge crushed his 44th home run off of a pitch from Tigers hurler Brant Hurter in the eighth inning of Friday's game. The homer opened up the lead for New York, which has won three in a row.
“He's a great hitter,” Tigers catcher Jake Rogers said, per the outlet. “It was a dumb pitch. As soon as I called [sinker in], I was like, ‘Man, this is ballsy.' It's one of those where they're going to praise me or hate me for a couple days. I came in and went directly to [Hurter] and went ‘Sorry,’ because it was a mistake. Props to Judge.”
The Yankees are working to rebound from a disappointing 2023 season, which saw the team lose 80 games and miss the postseason. Judge battled injuries, that certainly played a role in the frustrations.
This year, he is back to his old tricks. Judge is actually on pace to break his own record for the most homers in an AL single season. He crushed 62 in the 2022 campaign. He needs 18 more to tie the record with nearly 40 games left in the regular season.
Judge has put himself in elite company with his play this season. He set a franchise record for the most home runs in a season before the All-Star break. The slugger had 34 of his blasts before the break, surpassing Roger Maris and Judge himself. He is also the fastest player in MLB to reach 300 career home runs. He accomplished that feat in just 955 games.
The Yankees and Tigers face off again on Saturday. With the loss Friday, Detroit fell to 59-64 on the year.
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