Aaron Judge

Akshita Patel

Aaron Judge Achieves Unique Yankees Milestone Owing To A Home Run Spree Vs. Rays

New York Yankees captain, Aaron Judge, remains the face of the $7 billion sporting franchise. Since bursting out of the scene in 2017, the slugger has scaled new heights each year with his extraordinary performance on the plate. 2022 was the decisive breakthrough year for Judge. He instilled his name in the history books by surpassing the all-time leading homer record, which also awarded him his first MVP award.

Regardless, all the personal accolades remain in the past as this season has brought along new challenges for the Yankees slugger. His start has been underwhelming so far, and the recent brief IL stint did not help much. Despite the odds, Aaron Judge kept his head high and worked tirelessly to produce results on the plate. Finally, he got his due against the Tampa Bay Rays last week, which allowed the slugger to achieve a unique milestone.

   

Aaron Judge Joins Elite List Of Yankee Players Owing To Recent Heroics Against Rays

Aaron Judge
Photo Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees took on the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend in a four-game series. After facing an initial setback, the Yankees staged a strong comeback to level the series before heading into the high-pressure third game. The mighty Rays put the Bombers under pressure early on by putting up a six-run lead. However, the Yankees staged an unthinkable comeback. Aaron Judge, the captain, slammed two homers and accumulated four runs for the team. Later, Anthony Volpe scored a run on a wild pitch by solely running down from first to home base. After notable contributions for the entire lineup, the Bombers went home with a 9-8 victory.

Aaron Judge, the Yankees captain, emerged as the hero of the game owing to two home runs, which also landed him in an elite list of Yankee players. This was Judge’s 29th multi-homer career game which tied him with former Yankee great Alex Rodriguez in fifth place for most multi-homer games in the history of the franchise. The sluggers now rank behind the likes of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio in the elite list. Moreover, the slugger is just 31 years old and has a long career lying ahead of him. Hence, we expect Judge to surpass these legends in the long future and eventually transform into a Yankee legend himself.

Judge Misses Game Tying Homer Against The Rays By A Whisker

Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees reacts after striking out against the Texas Rangers in the second inning at Globe Life Field on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images/TNS)

A thrilling and exciting series finale was set up between the New York Yankees and mighty Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees, being the bottom-ranked team in the East, had fought by wearing hearts up their sleeves during the whole series. Eventually, it all came down to Captain Aaron Judge to help the team cruise through the finish line. Trailing 7-8 in the ninth inning, Judge has the perfect opportunity to hit the game-tying homer off Rays closer Jason Adam.

However, the Yankee slugger blew it. Adam pitched a sweeper, and Aaron Judge smoked it over the center field. Ray’s closer knew he had messed it up, and his head immediately dropped. However, what he didn’t realize was that Judge had failed to cross the wall. The hit, which looked like a sure homer, dropped on the hands of Ray’s center fielder Jose Siri. That was it for the Yankees, who had to settle the series with a split.