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Fans celebrated as Aaron Judge blasted his 53rd home run of the season during yesterday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. With this home run, Judge surpassed his single-season home run record of 52. During today's game against the Minnesota Twins, Judge hit his 54th homer of the year. It's a race to see how many home runs Judge can hit.
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Aaron Judge is easily one of if not the best players in Major League Baseball. Through 130 games played this season, Judge is batting at just under .300, leading the league with .674 slugging and a whopping 1.074 OPS. Along with his 53 home runs, which leads the league, he also leads the league with 115 RBIs. In total, Judge leads all of baseball in seven major offensive categories.
This is all in a contract year for Judge, who is expected to receive a large deal in free agency. Prior to this season, the Yankees offered Judge a hefty contract extension worth $213.5 million. Sources have said that Aaron Judge wants a longer deal than the Yankees offered him.
Aaron Judge's WAR is currently at an 8.2, which leads the MLB. It is safe to say that he has been the best player on the New York Yankees by far.
He has also been their only bright spot this past month and a half for the Yanks. They are currently amist, one of the worst collapses of all time.
Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees have been a different team since the All-Star break
Before the All-Star break, the New York Yankees were the best team in baseball. They held a 13 game division lead at the time, and it was a foregone conclusion that they were going to win the AL East. At the break, they were on pace to win 117 games, which would have been the most of all time.
However, things have been ugly for the Yankees in the second half of the season. Since the All-Star break, the Yankees have a record of 16-26; ten games under .500. They now hold a four-game lead in the division, with the Tampa Bay Rays gaining ground quickly.
Their offense seems to have disappeared. What once looked like the greatest offense in recent MLB history, is now completely dead. There have been many games for the Yankees in this stretch where the team scores one or fewer runs.
If the Yankees were to blow the division lead, it would be one of the most substantial collapses in MLB history. The last collapse that substantial happened across town to the New York Mets in 2007, who blew a seven-game lead over the Phillies in 12 games.
Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees need to prove themselves over this final stretch. If they can get through this adversity, momentum will be ripe for the postseason.
