The vote again was unanimous among the crowd of 37,751 Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. Just as it is for every game that takes place in the Bronx, from April through October. Whenever Aaron Judge swings a bat or simply jogs out to rightfield, the pinstriped electorate speaks loud and clear.
“M-V-P!”
There’s no debate here, on the opposite coast, roughly 3,000 miles away from where Mariners’ catcher Cal Raleigh is building his own case in an effort to dethrone Judge, the reigning American League MVP and two-time winner. Aside from Raleigh playing the sport’s most demanding position, and leading the majors with 59 homers for the soon-to-be West champs, it’s a tough sell when you stack him up against Judge. And what the Yankees’ captain did Wednesday night to help deliver an 8-1 victory over the White Sox was only the latest example.
Judge blasted a pair of homers, Nos. 50 and 51 for the season, the first being a three-run shot in the second inning that gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead they never relinquished from that point. The fact that he instantly erased Chicago’s early 1-0 edge, one that dented Max Fried due to Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s error and a sacrifice fly, carried extra importance with the Yankees in hot pursuit of the Blue Jays for the AL East title — now with only four games left.
“We try not to focus on checking the standings, checking the records, anything like that,” Judge said. “If we just take care of what we do, we’ll be where we want to be. Our goal, once we start the season, ultimately is go out there and win a World Series.”
The playoffs are still another few days away, so we won’t get into the whole October Judge thing just yet. There’s plenty of time for that, and the MVP award doesn’t take the postseason into account anyway. The BBWAA casts those ballots at the end of the regular season, so whatever Judge does afterward — and everyone knows it’s never really been very Judge-like during that part of the calendar — isn’t up for consideration.
As for the first six months, however, few reach the Mount Olympus of offensive production that Judge provides on a daily basis. Before his pair of homers Wednesday night, Judge already led just about every key statistical category, as his .325 batting average was seven points higher than the runner-up, his .452 on-base percentage was 53 points ahead, his .669 slugging led by 52 points and his 1.121 OPS was 110 points above the next closest. If those numbers hold, Judge would be only the fifth player in the Expansion Era, since 1961, to lead the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging in a single-season, joining Miguel Cabrera (2013), Barry Bonds (2002), Larry Walker (1999) and George Brett (1980).
“The consistency is incredible,” Fried said. “Every game that he plays, everyone’s giving their best stuff to him every single day, and the consistency and discipline that he’s able to have, not taking an at-bat off and making sure that he’s doing everything he can. His ability to lock in like that is extremely impressive.”
Not to mention Judge has gritted his way through a flexor-tendon strain to reclaim his starting position in rightfield, having to work through a gradual throwing program and the Yankees deploying a “creative cutoff” system to alleviate the stress on his forearm. On Wednesday, Judge let loose with his strongest throw since coming off the IL, one that registered 85.8 mph, but sailed over the cutoff man anyway. It was still considered progress though, as the Yankees need Judge in right to maximize their lineup with Giancarlo Stanton at DH.
“It’s feeling great,” Judge said. “I’ve been telling you guys all year it’s feeling good, so I got to get back to accuracy a little bit. But that’ll come. I don’t like air-mailing balls like that, but I felt good.”
While Judge’s career-long historical achievements don’t necessarily factor into the MVP voting, it’s certainly worth noting that he’s now reached the 50-homer plateau for a fourth season, which ties the MLB record with Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Babe Ruth. Wednesday also was Judge’s 46th career multi-homer game, matching Mickey Mantle for second on the Yankees’ all-time list, trailing only Ruth (68).
But that’s what Judge has been doing on almost a nightly basis. Carving out a place with baseball’s greatest legends. He already passed Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio on the franchise’s homer list earlier this month to move into fourth place behind Lou Gehrig. The most important thing to these current Yankees, however, is what Judge does to impact the Yankees’ chances of winning — and it’s hard to believe anyone could do more, anywhere else.
“He takes that role very seriously, being captain,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s just so revered and leads a very strong culture in there. He takes that label, that mantle, that responsibility very seriously and it’s one of those things that helps us navigate the long, tough season.”
No wonder then that Tuesday night, during the playoff-clinching party, Judge stood surrounded by giddy teammates, goggles down and Champagne bottles up.
And what were they all chanting at him? “M-V-P” of course.
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.
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