Summer of Judge
The Yankees won the division after a two-year hiatus, but I'll remember witnessing Aaron Judge's historic home runs most.
As you have probably heard, Aaron Judge is the new home run king of the American League after swatting 62 to pass the 61 hit by Roger Maris in 1961. The center fielder recently won the AL’s Most Valuable Player award by capturing 28 out of 30 first-place votes.
Despite an uneven second half of the season, the Yanks avoided a Wild Card series and won the Divison Series against Cleveland. Everything that transpired afterward is a little fuzzy in my mind. I saw just one win out of the three Yankees games I attended in Anaheim but loved witnessing Judge’s heroics firsthand.
The Angels defeated the Yanks 4-3 on August 29, but Judge’s 50th homer ignited the crowd and the recently re-signed Anthony Rizzo clubbed his 29th. Unfortunately, Judge’s impact was limited by two intentional walks, while MVP runner-up Shohei Ohtani broke a tie with a two-run shot in the fifth against starting pitcher and trade deadline acquisition Frankie Montas. Former Yankee Mike Ford also homered for the Angels.
Things clicked into place for New York on Tuesday, August 30 despite Jameson Taillon being forced to leave due to injury after the second inning. Magneuris Sierra hit the ball off his forearm and manager Aaron Boone saw no reason to risk Taillon’s health. That left Greg Weissert to pitch the next pair of frames which earned him his first major league victory.
Angels starter Mike Mayers struck out three Yankees including Judge in the top of the first, but Andrew Benintendi’s homer put New York ahead 1-0. Rizzo smashed his second solo round tripper in two nights during the second before Max Stassi took Taillon deep to tie the game at two. A Judge single sandwiched between two walks set up a pivotal third inning. Josh Donaldson hit a ground ball, but Luis Rengifo made a poor throw allowing the Yankees to take a 4-2 advantage.
DJ LeMahieu and Benintendi both missed the postseason with injuries, but their singles in the fourth set the table for a Judge exclamation point. His 51st home run of the campaign kicked off a celebration outside the visitors’ dugout.
Five relievers combined to allow just one Angels run the rest of the way. After Wandy Peralta got Matt Duffy to record the final out on a line drive to center, I snapped a photo to celebrate a 7-4 win for the Yankees.
Judge walked twice and stole a base in Wednesday’s finale. Nevertheless, the Yankees were again derailed by an Ohtani long ball. Gerrit Cole was mostly effective, but the sixth inning saw things unravel after a David Fletcher single and error by Isiah Kiner-Falefa put runners on base. Ohtani’s big blow made the score 3-2 in favor of tbe home team which is how things ended.
It was a surreal environment for the entire series. The large contingent of Yankee fans stood and cheered during every Judge at-bat. On the two occasions that he left the yard, the raucous atmosphere became downright cacophanous. The scene felt historic, and it was. On October 5 in Toronto, Judge set the all-time American League record with 62 long balls. In the same season that I witnessed a no-hitter and Clayton Kershaw setting the Dodgers strikeout record, I had been a part of the road to Judge’s milestone as well.
Judge now gets to cash in on free agency at the most opportune time. The Giants and Dodgers are among the teams said to have interest, while the Yankees have reportedly already offered the slugger a contract worth more than $300 million. Judge finished 2022 with 11 Wins Above Replacement. In 1921, Babe Ruth posted the best single-season WAR ever with 14. While Ruth was a wealthy man, the Sultan of Swat likely never dreamed of how high ballplayer salaries would get just over 100 years later.