Yankees Aaron Judge Closes in on Triple Crown
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Babe Ruth now has more company.
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge joined the hall of famer as just the third American League player to launch 60 home runs in a single season. Judge tied Ruth when he turned on a sinker from Pittsburgh’s Will Crowe, sending the ball 430 feet into the left-field bleachers.
With the blast, Judge is now tied with Ruth for the second-most home runs in a season with the Yankees and an American League player. On his next homer, Judge will tie former Yankee Roger Maris for the AL single-season home run record at 61.
Judge is also closing in on the Triple Crown. Can he win it? Here are his odds.
Aaron Judge Says He's Not Chasing Numbers
"I don't think about the numbers," Judge said. "When you talk about Ruth and Maris and (Mickey) Mantle and all these Yankees greats that did so many great things in this game, you never imagine as a kid being mentioned with them. It's an incredible honor. It's something I don't take lightly at all, but we're not done. We still have a couple of games left in this season and hopefully, a couple of more wins come with them.
"I'm trying to enjoy it all, soak it all in, but I know I still have a job to do out on the field every single day and I just have to keep my head down, keep preparing and stay mentally focused."
Judge is already on a faster home run pace than both Maris and Ruth. Maris hit his 60th homer in New York’s 159th game, while Ruth took 154 contests to hit 60 home runs. Judge just hit his 60th in the Yankees’ 147th game of the season.
Aaron Judge's Triple Crown Chase
Judge's 60 home runs are well ahead of the 37 by Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, so I feel fairly confident in saying Judge will win that category.
Judge also has a comfortable lead in RBIs with 128. Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez is next in line with 115. Judge will likely become the first person to reach 130 RBI since J.D. Martinez did it with the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
Prince Fielder reached 140 with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009, while Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard recorded 141 RBI in the same season. Not since Alex Rodriguez tallied 157 RBI with the Yankees in 2007 has an AL player reached at least 140 RBI.
The closest category for Judge is batting average. He managed to take the lead with his ninth-inning home run, increasing his average to .316. Boston’s Xander Bogaerts is second at .315, while Minnesota’s Luis Arreaz is a close third at .314.
As for the AL MVP race, FanDuel is essentially calling Judge a winner. Judge is –20000 to win the award, while Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani has the next best odds at +2500.
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