Pitchers for the New York Yankees would probably rather face anyone else in the lineup besides Aaron Judge, and you can’t blame them for that preference. Due to the fact that the rest of the team has been performing poorly, he is currently in the lead for AL Most Valuable Player.
The slugger is making further inroads into the record books with each at-bat. On Saturday, he achieved something that no Yankee had done in the previous 65 years.
Judge became the first Yankee player since Mickey Mantle in 1957 to reach base safely at least three times in seven consecutive games thanks to his three hits in the Yankees’ 10-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Mantle was the last Yankee player to accomplish this feat.
Even though Judge has an on-base percentage of .412, which places him first in the American League, he is almost always safe to assume that he will steal bases. In his last seven contests, he has an on-base percentage of .636, which is an impressive mark.
Judge is on pace to break the Yankees franchise record for most home runs in a season, which is currently held by Roger Maris and stands at 61. There is a possibility that Judge would hold the all-time record for the most hits in a single season were it not for the steroid era.
Judge already holds the record for most home runs hit by a right-handed batter in a single season for the Yankees. This record was previously held by Alex Rodriguez, who hit 54 home runs and won the AL MVP award in 2007.
In 1937, Lou Gehrig was the only Yankee to get on base three times or more in nine straight games. In 1920, Babe Ruth did it eight times in a row. The record is 10 games, which was set by Ty Cobb in 1925.
Mantle won the MVP in 1957 after a close race with Ted Williams. This year, it’s another two-man race between Judge and Shohei Ohtani, who is fifth in the AL in both OPS (.891) and ERA (2.58, min. 135 innings pitched). As of Saturday, he was also second in the AL with 33 home runs and 265 total bases.
Judge leads baseball in homers (55), RBI (120), slugging percentage (.683), OPS (1,095), runs scored (112), and total bases (342). His batting average is .307, putting him in contention for the AL Triple Crown. Boston’s Xander Bogaerts hit .318 entering Saturday.
The race for Most Valuable Player is getting down to a handful of votes that are almost unheard of in terms of frequency.
Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, Judge is a free agent this year, and Ohtani will be available the following year after finishing his contract.
What do you think, leave a comment below?
