PITTSBURGH — In his 1,000th career game, Aaron Judge turned in a typical Aaron Judge performance.
There was, of course, a home run.
There was a strong defensive play up against the right field wall.
And afterward, there were Judge’s manager and teammates trying to find new words to describe what they continually get to witness on a daily basis from the Yankees captain.
“I think he’s, this generation, one of their greatest players,” manager Aaron Boone said, explaining why he already considers Judge to be a “no-brainer” Hall of Famer.
Cooperstown may be calling eventually, but for now, Judge continued his torrid start to the season, clubbing his sixth home run (with 17 RBIs) in the seventh game of the year — putting him on pace for an absurd 139 homers.
As of the finish of the Yankees’ 9-4 win Friday, Judge had more home runs than nine teams altogether.
In his 10-year career, Judge has 321 home runs to go with a 1.014 OPS.
Hall of Famer?
“Got a lot of work to do,” Judge said predictably. “We’ll talk about that in a couple years.”
Judge’s 403-foot blast to right-center field Friday put the Yankees up 9-1 in the seventh inning off lefty Tim Mayza, the former Blue Jay (and Yankee) who is better known for giving up Judge’s 61st home run in 2022.
Aaron Judge (left) celebrates with Ben Rice after hitting a two-run home run during the seventh inning of the Yankees’ blowout win over the Pirates. AP
The more impressive feat may have been his catch in the first inning that robbed Ke’Bryan Hayes of extra bases. He got to the warning track and leapt to make the snag before tumbling into the wall, and while it gave slight flashbacks of Dodger Stadium in 2023, Judge was no worse for wear this time.
“Definitely a tense little moment there,” Boone said.
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“We’re good,” Judge said. “That’s just a bad read on me. They got a bigger warning track, so I thought I was right by the wall. I gotta make that look a little more graceful next time.”
Still, his teammates were left impressed, as usual.
“It definitely helps when that’s an F9 instead of a double,” said Max Fried, who was on the mound. “It’s incredible. Game in and game out, what he’s able to do, be able to change a game with one swing at any moment, and on top of that, making some really, really nice plays, too, in the outfield. I’m really happy that I’m on his team now.
“The great ones do it day in and day out, and the consistency’s there. To see what he does and the work he puts in, it makes sense.”
