“Has put himself in the realm of Ruth and Gehrig” - Yankees’ Reggie Jackson praises Aaron Judge on his outstanding and consistent performance

Aaron Judge has been the man for the New York Yankees over the last few seasons, and that has not stopped this year. After a rocky start, he has done nothing but blister baseballs.

Through 118 games, the slugger is hitting .329/.463/.699, leading all hitters in home runs (42) and runs batted in (107), alongside multiple other categories. He has been vital to the Bronx Bombers' success this season.

Judge has long gotten the attention of a Yankees' legend, Reggie Jackson. Jackson has consistently praised the former AL MVP and ranks him among some all-time legends, per the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

"[Judge] has put himself in the realm of Ruth and Gehrig," - said Jackson.

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are arguably two of the greatest players of all-time not just greats for NY. Jackson has high hopes for Judge, hitting 600 home runs and surpassing Gehris while putting him close to Ruth.

"And I hope he does it," Jackson said. "He's a good guy,"

Reggie Jackson was not prepared for Aaron Judge to be as good as he was with the Yankees so early

New York Yankees - Aaron Judge (Image via Imagn)

Aaron Judge got a short start with the Yankees during the 2016 season. He played in just 27 games, getting his first taste of big-league action, and struggled. He finished the year hitting .179 while striking out 42 times.

Hal Steinbrenner and the rest of the front office were unsure if they wanted to give Judge a starting position the following year. They were hesitant about his low numbers and high strikeout rate.

"Well, if you can deal with 200 strikeouts, and he can deal with 200 strikeouts, he's going to hit 15 home runs and 15 more fly balls that are going to land on the other side of the fence" - said Jackson.

Reggie Jackson could not have been more wrong. That 2017 season, Judge certainly struck out 200 times, but he finished the season with 52 home runs, seven behind Giancarlo Stanton who finished with the most.

Not many people could have predicted this rise to stardom, but we are all witnessing it. Judge does not look like he will be slowing down anytime soon, either.

It will be interesting to see just how well he finishes his career. He has the opportunity to be among the other all-time great Yankee sluggers.