NEW YORK — Inside the New York Yankees’ dugout, Marcus Stroman, still in his first season in pinstripes, turned to Nestor Cortes. They were watching Aaron Judge at the plate.
“Oh, man,” Stroman said. “This guy’s incredible.”
Cortes laughed.
“Yeah, dude,” he said. “I watched this in 2022 all year.”
For some, it may be feeling like 2022 all over again. That season, Judge hit an American League record 62 home runs.
With two more homers Wednesday night, he was on pace to hit 60 this season.
“He just kind of keeps getting a little better all the time,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees’ 8-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. “I think that’s what greatness is.”
On a night Juan Soto blasted his 36th homer — setting a new single-season personal best — Judge stole the show, crushing a two-run shot in the third inning and a solo blast in the seventh to give him an MLB-leading 47 home runs. He’s played in 125 games. The Yankees have 35 games remaining.
Twice as nice for THE JUDGE 👨⚖️
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— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 22, 2024
Judge’s power output gave Cortes flashbacks of 2022, when he snapped the single-season mark of 61 that Yankees great Roger Maris set in 1961.
“It felt like every time he was up to bat it was either a homer or a walk, and that’s exactly what’s happening now,” said Cortes, who threw seven scoreless innings Wednesday. “It speaks to what he is and what he does and the way he goes about his game. He comes here every single day prepared and ready to work and he puts everybody on his back and we’re ready to rock.”
Judge hasn’t been all power, either. He leads the majors in RBIs at 117 and his .334 batting average was second in baseball behind the Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. at .352.
“His season could end right now and it could be a really good, special year for him,” Cortes said. “With a month left or a month and 10 days, whatever it is, it’s going to be fun to watch going down the stretch.”
Judge (three RBIs) and Soto (five RBIs) combined to drive in all of the Yankees’ runs Wednesday. Soto hit a bases-clearing, three-run double in the fourth inning to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead.
Soto was asked what he admires most about Judge.
“I would say his power,” Soto said. “He’s just incredible. And the consistency that he has. I think that’s one of the things that I admire the most. It doesn’t matter if the game is 10 runs up or 10 runs down, he’s going to take a great at-bat and try to do damage to the other team. I think that’s one of the things I admire most and I try to do the same thing.”
Judge’s 38 multi-homer games since 2017 are the most over that span. He’s hit five home runs in his last six games and six home runs in his last nine games. He also homered in back-to-back games for the 12th time this season.
Judge’s 304 career home runs are the most by any major-league player through his first 960 career games.
Boone said he thinks Judge has never been fulfilled with what he’s done on the field.
“You know there’s adjustments to be made,” he said of Judge. “Improving on the margins … I think, obviously, since he’s been in the league, he’s pretty much been great from jump, but I think just the way he controls the strike zone now is to another level, and then his power is different than just about anyone.”
The manager added that he believes Soto and Judge push each other to be great.
“There’s an element of that, no doubt about it,” Boone said. “Two guys (who are) that great, back to back, I think they root for one another. I think they really appreciate each other. One (is) right-handed, one (is) left-handed. They are different in how they do it. I think they have an appreciation for one another and I think they like doing what they did tonight together.”
Judge said he hopes to get better every season “until I take the jersey off my back.”
“I’m going to try to get better every single year and do whatever I can to help the Yankees win the World Series,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. Just try to never be satisfied. This game has given me a lot. I have to try to give my all to the game.”
(Photo of Aaron Judge: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)
