Aaron Judge continues to break down barriers for himself.
On Friday night, the Yankees captain hit his 40th home run of the season off Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman in the bottom of the first inning, a two-run shot that sliced high and deep into the rain-soaked Bronx sky and landed halfway up the left field stands.
When Judge’s ball came back down the stretch, it ended up traveling 477 feet, the third-longest of his career and his longest since his rookie season in 2017.
Judge’s home run came just six days after he smashed a 470-foot homer to center field against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Friday’s shot was the second-longest in the major leagues this season, behind Jorge Soler’s 478 feet.
The home run was Judge’s sixth career home run off Gausman, making him the first MLB hitter this year to reach the 100 RBI milestone.
“We were kind of sitting at number 39. [homers] And 99 [RBIs] “For a while,” Judge said. “Juan [Soto] “He told me in Philadelphia, ‘I’m going to keep getting on base and get my 100th RBI,’ and he did it tonight.”
The six-time All-Star joined Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle as just a few players in pinstripes to hit 40 or more home runs in three or more seasons.
“If it had come with a win tonight, that would have been pretty awesome,” Judge said when asked about the feat.
Judge also ranks alongside many notable non-Yankees players who have reached that level, including David Ortiz, Jeff Bagwell, Carl Yastrzemski and Mike Trout.
Judge’s huge home run put the Bombers back in the game, down 3-2 in the first inning, but Toronto eventually rallied for four more runs in the top of the third to take the 8-5 victory.
Judge then hit a 110 mph single off Gausman in the bottom of the fifth inning and finished with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, 2 RBI, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.
Judge, who hit his 40th home run in 109 games this season, is on pace to average 59.4 home runs in 2024, just three shy of the AL record of 62 set two seasons ago, which would coincide with his first MVP award.
If it holds up, Judge’s 1.144 OPS would be the best by an MLB hitter in a single season (100+ games) since Barry Bonds in 2004.
