Call to the pen
Fansided

New York Yankees and the greatness of Aaron Judge

By Beau Adams

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 19: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees smiles after making a catch at the outfield wall for an out during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium on April 19, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 19: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees smiles after making a catch at the outfield wall for an out during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium on April 19, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 20: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a single in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium on April 20, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 20: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a single in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium on April 20, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Finally, we get to Aaron Judge. The captain has been living up to his new title and position. Through the first 19 games of the season, he has improved his strikeout rate, hitting .263 with six home runs. That puts him on pace for 51 trips around the bases this season.

Hosting the Los Angeles Angels, Judge didn’t get off to a great start. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and left two runners on base, plus two strikeouts, in the Yankees’ 5-2 loss in game one.

In game two, Judge asserted his dominance and showed MLB fans who was who. Ohtani announced his authority in the first inning by rocketing a pitch 411 feet to center field. The wall in center sits at 408 feet. Judge vaulted his giant 6-foot-7 body and robbed Ohtani of all the glory. It was beautiful and will be one of the biggest highlights of the 2023 season. We will see it again when the MVP debates start up later this season, but watch it now in the video below.

Saving a home run wasn’t enough heroics for the captain in the first inning. After Anthony Volpe singled in the Yankee’s first at-bat, Judge clobbered a 412-foot shot to left center with an exit velocity of 111 mph. If you want to watch it, I added it below.

Judge ended the three-game series against the Angels with a .416 OBP with a homer and three RBI. Judge out-contributed Trout and Ohtani with five runs to their two combined as the Yankees outscored the Angels 14-10 in the 2-1 series win by the Yankees.

With his glove and bat, Aaron Judge single-handedly won that series against the two players he thinks are better than him. I say Judge>Trout/Ohtani.

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