Aaron Judge was pitched to very carefully on Monday night, as has become the norm with the perennial MVP candidate chasing Roger Maris’ historic Yankee record.
But in the one at-bat where he was given quality pitches to hit, Judge rocked his 50th home run of the season off the rocks in left center field, becoming just the third player in Yankee history to post two 50-homer seasons.
The other two? Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle.
“It’s 50 and it’s August,” Aaron Boone said after Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Angels. “It’s hard to wrap your head around it…it’s really special what he’s doing.”
Judge was far more concerned about losing the game, the team’s third in a row.
“Just another number,” Judge said. “Wish we could have came out with a win, but it’s just another number. When you’re showing up to work every single day with a plan and mission to win the game, you don’t get caught up in individual numbers, good or bad.
“It’s great, but I’m kind of upset about the loss. It was a close game that we could have won…we’ll talk about how it feels once the season is over with.”
But even another tough loss against an inferior opponent couldn’t drown out his teammates’ amazement of what Judge is accomplishing.
“I think he's going to do something incredible,” Giancarlo Stanton said. “He already has. We got a month more to watch and get some wins.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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