Since Aaron Judge made his Major League debut on August 13, 2016, only one player in the Majors has hit more than 300 home runs. That one figure can only be the “Judge” himself, a slugger in capital letters who has struck terror into opposing pitchers with his power and has left behind the rest of the circuit’s home run hitters, even some with many more games than him
For example, from 2016 to date, Judge has hit 345 home runs in 1,076 games, and his closest pursuer, Kyle Schwarber, has 293 home runs in 1,144 games. The difference is even greater with the next on the list: Manny Machado (287 in 1,367), Eugenio Suarez (284 in 1,370) and Nolan Arenado (281 in 1,358)
“The Judge” is simply laying down the law in the New York Yankees uniform, where he has made the transition from star rookie to absolute captain of the most demanding baseball team in the United States. On Sunday, for example, he continued to grow his legend with the Bronx Bombers, living up to the team’s nickname
Against the Athletics, Judge hit a pair of home runs to reach 30 on the season. The Yankees’ No. 99, who is on the verge of his seventh All-Star Game after being the most voted player by the fans, ruthlessly punished his former teammate Luis Severino and Tyler Ferguson, who endured two hits of more than 400 feet.
The New Yorkers scored a dozen runs on Sunday, a sign of recovery after receiving their fourth shutout in the last two weeks on Saturday. Judge drove in four runs, as did Jazz Chisholm Jr, the other offensive hero of a historic day for the Yankees captain
“That’s what it’s about. Sometimes you’re going to get beaten up, sometimes things don’t go your way. You just have to go out the next day and get to work,” Judge said after Sunday’s game, in which the Yankees took a breather, as their win was combined with a loss by Tampa to Baltimore
“Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them to. You just have to go out the next day and get to work”
With his two home runs, Judge reached 44 games with multiple home runs, surpassing a franchise legend like Lou Gehrig. The Yankees’ mythical number 4 hit two or more home runs in a game on 43 occasions during his 17-season, 2,164-game career in the majors
“The Judge” needed much less time to surpass him, as he consumed only 1,076 games in ten seasons. In addition, the current Bronx outfielder has moved to within two multi-home run games of Mickey Mantle (46), who ranks second on the Yankees’ all-time list. Further up the list is Babe Ruth with 68 two-or-more homer games.
Those are the next targets for Judge, the active player with the most multi-home run games. The outfielder leads the rankings ahead of Manny Machado (43), Giancarlo Stanton (38) and Mookie Betts (31), his closest pursuers.
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