Against the Mets, Aaron Judge is hitting on all cylinders
The Yankees' Aaron Judge reacts in front of Mets catcher Tomas Nido after his solo home run during the fourth inning of an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Aaron Judge hits the ball with such force, such ferocity, that sometimes it can feel like a punch right through a team’s soul. On Tuesday night, in the Subway Series finale, the Mets experienced that sensation.
It’s one the Flushing franchise has come to know all too well.
Judge tortured the Mets again, slamming his second homer in as many games, with a jaw-dropping missile ithat touched down deep in the leftfield bleachers. The final distance was estimated at 453 feet, and the sizzling shot got out there so quickly that the crowd dispersed to move out of the way rather than jockey for position to attempt a catch.
From the moment of contact, Judge knew where it was headed. He didn’t need to watch. And the Yankees, stymied by the Mets’ starter Taijuan Walker to that point - a double-play had just erased their first hit, Andrew Benintendi’s leadoff single in the fourth -- erupted in the dugout as the Stadium shook.
Nothing energizes the Yankees like a Judge home run. And this blast was not your typical Judge homer. At 115.9 mph, it was the fastest exit velo on a hit for him this season -- a few outs registered higher -- and the ball disappeared in what seemed like a blink. Even the regular Judge watchers, the ones wearing pinstripes, were impressed.
“He cleaned that one out nice tonight,” Boone said, smiling. “That was a good way to get us going.”
Judge had stumbled some in recent days, and not coincidentally, so had the Yankees. But he found it funny after Tuesday night’s 4-2 victory when someone mentioned his nine-game homerless “drought,” which he snapped with a solo shot off Max Scherzer in a bit of revenge Monday for their one-sided battles over at Citi Field back in July.
But Judge is viewed differently than everyone else -- those not named Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Maris or Babe Ruth. As newcomer Frankie Montas said Tuesday, “every time he steps to the plate, we’re expecting a home run.” Tuesday’s laser was No. 48 -- do we even need to say he leads the majors anymore? -- and he’s only the sixth player to hit as many through a team’s first 124 games.
“I try not to think about it because I got a plan, I got a mission every single time I step up to the plate,” Judge said. “That plan changes based on the situation and sometimes it’s, hey, I got to hit a homer here and help out the team, or hit a single here and drive in a run or work a walk here and start a rally. I try not to really base what I do off other people’s expectations. I got high expectations of myself and try to go out there and do my job.”
Judge does that job particularly well against the Mets. The fourth-inning homer not only put the Yankees in front, but was his 10th in 21 career games against the Mets. He’s also hitting .299 (23-for-77) in these matchups, and has 15 RBIs, thanks to his run-scoring single off Adam Ottavino with two outs in the seventh.
It’s not that the blue-and-orange makes Judge see red -- more that the Subway Series is a stage to his liking. The Bronx was rocking with another sellout crowd of 49,217 and you have to figure the vasty majority of those fans were sporting No. 99 jerseys.
“He loves playing when the lights are bright,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I think he looks forward to these things. Especially with the two teams having the kind of seasons they are, these feel a little bigger. He feels that way and I think he does enjoy that.”
As Judge goes this season, so do the Yankees, which is going to come in handy for the slugger during his postseason contract negotiations. That was evident from the first month, and has only picked up in momentum since. When Judge slumps -- or more accurately, when his torrid pace slightly cools -- the Yankees looks lost, as they had before winning three straight for the first time since July 30.
There is no better case for the American League MVP this year, only because Judge is doing things that are rarely done. Not only racking up insane numbers, but establishing himself as the unstoppable engine of a team that has maintained a double-digit division lead for most of this summer.
In this Subway Series sweep, Bronx edition, Judge delivered the gut punches that wobbled the Mets, just as he’s knocked over other teams like bowling pins before them. Afterward, Boone was asked if he recalled seeing anything like Judge’s 2022 performance.
“I can’t really say, to this level,” Boone said. “And I think when you add it all up, too, with the kind of two-way player he is ... he’s also done it in the biggest spots. It’s hard to put a comparison on it in my experience.”
The Mets are just glad Judge is in their rear-view mirror. Until maybe a rematch come October.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
