Aaron Judge Does Something Not Done in Nearly 30 Years of Yankee History on Friday
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The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 at Camden Yards on Friday night. The Yankees, who are now 57-39 and 1.0 game behind the Orioles in the American League East, had a significant victory.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge went 1-for-1 with a home run, four walks, an RBI, and a run scored in the victory, posting one of the most bizarre stat lines in team history. According to @NyYankeesStats, the Yankees haven’t seen a stat line like that since the 1996 campaign:
Aaron Judge: Not since Paul O’Neill on April 30, 1996 at BAL, is a Yankee had a home run and four walks in a game.
Judge, who previously won the award in 2022, is having an MVP-caliber season for the Yankees. Right now, he leads the major leagues in both RBI and home runs with 33.
Furthermore, this marks only the third occasion in team history that a player has hit 33 home runs prior to the All-Star break. That 33rd home run came before the break.
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports:
@Yankees This is Aaron Judge’s 33rd season home run. Only two Yankees players—Judge in 2022 and Roger Maris in 1961—had hit thirty-three home runs prior to the All-Star break. He is one of them.
Judge, who will start in the All-Star Game the next week, is batting.306 overall. He is a.284 hitter with 290 home runs in his career. He ought to hit the 300 home run mark rather fast in the second half of the season, if he keeps healthy.