New York Yankees: Court Is Back In Session, Aaron Judge Has Returned
By Alex Mazer
The New York Yankees rookie slugger has rekindled his first-half flame, and he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees belted two more out of the park on Monday, his second game in a row with multiple home runs, earning himself a spot in the history books.
Judge’s 50th home run marked his separation from Mark McGwire and ascension to the top of the rookie home run leaderboard.
Game 1 may have required a few eye rubs to assure the sight was reality. Game 2 probably called for a game 3 to give it more meaning. But when Judge proceeds to do it for 14 games straight, we are no longer seeing an upward trend, we are seeing the same Aaron Judge we all came to love in the first half.
In that span, Judge has launched 11 over the fence, driving in 21.
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He was previously performing at an unsustainable pace, and his drop-off was swift. Over the course of the summer months, it seemed more prudent for Manager Joe Girardi to sub in a pitcher at the plate because at least a bunt would not hold the runners like his frequent strikeouts would.
But with that nightmarish version seemingly behind us, the Yankees finally have Judge right again, prepared for a postseason run.
His batting average has resurfaced, his isolated power (ISO) is off the charts, he is slugging at an unbelievable rate, and if he hits a fly ball, it is practically destined for the seats (HR/FB).
| First Half (4/2-7/9) | Huh? (7/14-9/9) | Hello Again (9/10-9/25) | |
| AVG | 0.329 | 0.182 | 0.378 |
| ISO | 0.362 | 0.182 | 0.800 |
| SLG | 0.691 | 0.365 | 1.178 |
| HR/FB | 41.70% | 18.40% | 52.40% |
Next: Aaron Judge sets rookie home run record
Had he just performed mediocre over the course of that middle column, we could be looking at one of the greatest seasons in recent history. Judge’s 50 home runs stands alone atop the American League, 9 above the next closest competitor, Khris Davis. And his National League rookie counterpart, Cody Bellinger? He sits at 39.
Reinserting Judge’s dominant bat into a lineup now complimented by mid-season additions, we could be looking at the deepest Yankee bunch we have seen all season.