Before the Yankees could pop the champagne, Aaron Judge joined the party with another moonshot.
The Yankees captain hit his 58th home run of the season on Thursday night, tying a career high with five consecutive home runs.
This RBI single, a two-run hit in the seventh inning, gave the Yankees a 9-0 lead over the Orioles on the verge of winning the American League East.
Although he likely suffered a 16-game drought earlier this month and may not be able to get back to the AL-record 62 hits he hit in 2022 by Sunday's final regular-season game, he suddenly , I ended up putting myself in striking distance. Late surge.
And his season could be better than his first MVP campaign in 2022.
“We're looking at some of the greatest players in history right now, really. [with] That's what we're looking at,'' coach Aaron Boone said before Thursday's game. “Obviously his power speaks for itself, but he takes great pride in being a well-rounded hitter. Like many great players in any sport… He works hard every year to get even a little better at baseball.
“I don't want to exaggerate and say he went to another level. [when he] He hit 62 home runs and won the MVP award. I don't know if it's on a different level, but is he a little better hitter today than he was back then? I think the answer is yes. ”
Judge hit .324 with a 1.163 OPS and 142 RBIs on Thursday (compared to .311 with a 1.111 OPS and 131 RBIs in 2022).
Unless Bobby Witt Jr. (hitting .333 on Thursday) records a few no-hit games to end the season, Judge will likely miss out on the Triple Crown, but he will still win his second AL. Looks like he's aiming for MVP.
Thursday's home run gave Judge his 144th RBI this season, the most since Ryan Howard's 146 in 2008.
