Can Aaron Judge Score 62nd Home Run For Yankees?
Aaron Judge has been all the talk this season for the New York Yankees. He is solidifying his place as a modern legend for his ability to be a constant and abiding offensive threat.
On September 20th, Judge hit hit 60th home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the dinger, Judge tied Babe Ruth's personal record. Ruth set the record 95 seasons ago during the 1927 MLB season for the Yankees.
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On September 29th, against the Toronto Blue Jays, Judge took Jays pitcher Tim Mayza deep to left field for his 61st of the season. With the homer, Judge tied the all-time home run record set by Roger Maris in 1961. Judge was the first player to hit 61 homers in 61 years.
However, with the season winding down, fans are beginning to wonder if Judge will actually reach 62, and set the record. Judge has become such a fan favorite in New York City that the entirety of the city seems to be rooting for him.
In addition to his 61 home runs and 130 RBIs this season, Judge has an average of .310. If he can finish the season leading in all three categories, he will be the first Triple Crown winner in a decade.
Giancarlo Stanton expressed confidence that Aaron Judge will hit #62 this week. Stanton pointed to the quality of Judge’s at-bats and the fact that he’s not chasing pitches outside the strike zone.
“It’ll come,” Stanton said reassuringly.
3 games to go.
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"Giancarlo Stanton expressed confidence that Aaron Judge will hit #62 this week. Stanton pointed to the quality of Judge’s at-bats and the fact that he’s not chasing pitches outside the strike zone. “It’ll come,” Stanton said reassuringly. 3 games to go." - @ Jon Morosi
However, Judge's production has slowed down markedly since he hit his 61st. Over the past 7 games, Judge has had only one home run and a pair of RBIs. To make matters worse, Aaron Judge has batted only .167 over that period of time. All the glory seems to have reached the big man psychologically and affected his ability to connect with the ball.
This is the longest period of time that Judge has gone all season with 1 or fewer home runs. He has only gone 6 or more games without a home run 5 times this season.
Can Aaron Judge do it?
Unfortunately, he is quickly running out of time. The Yankees are kicking off their final series of the season today with a double-header against the Texas Rangers. Aaron Judge has hit well against the Rangers, with 8 home runs in around 30 games against the club. We can only hope at this point that Judge will be able to bring home history in this road series with the Rangers in Arlington.