The new Bonds? BETTER than a video game player? Aaron Judge has his teammates scrambling for superlatives
-
Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
Every day, or close to it, Aaron Judge does something noteworthy, if not unprecedented. A towering home run — or two. An intentional walk with — gasp — two outs and the bases empty in the second inning. A record matched. Another record broken. Jaws dropping has become a daily occurrence going on five months.
And so his teammates and his manager have been asked, on an almost daily basis, to describe what they’re witnessing from the extraordinary slugger. By this point, the questions are met with headshakes. Formulating an answer has become an increasingly difficult mental exercise for members of the New York Yankees.
“Running out of words, honestly,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday after Judge clubbed home runs Nos. 50 and 51 in a win over the Colorado Rockies. “Just running out of words with what he’s doing. We’re getting on the train [to Washington]. I gotta get the thesaurus out and get to work.”
Judge has 51 home runs in 130 games, putting him on pace to break the American League record he set in 2022 of 62. He’s batting .333 with a .465 on-base percentage and .732 slugging percentage while playing center field almost every day. He leads the majors in fWAR. At age 32, he’s better than he’s ever been.
“I guess we’re on the on-pace portion of the season,” Boone joked last week. “Look, anything’s possible with him. I think he just wants to be great every day and help us win. So, nothing would surprise me.”
All this success comes despite a start to the season that saw Judge batting .178 with a .674 OPS and four home runs in 27 games. Since then, he’s become a pitch-mashing machine, slashing .377/.506/.844 with 47 home runs and 109 RBIs in 102 games. On Monday, he added a defensive gem: a leaping catch at the wall to rob an extra-base hit and turn a double play against the Washington Nationals.
“It’s hard,” said Gerrit Cole — one of baseball’s most thoughtful and well-spoken stars — when asked to describe Judge’s four-month onslaught last Thursday.
Cole had just watched Judge smack his 48th home run and tally his 16th intentional walk in a win against the Cleveland Guardians.
“It’s so impressive because when you look around the league and you see guys with high batting averages — .330, .340, .350, the guys in the past — there’s a fair amount of bunt hits and infield hits. This guy’s sitting at .330 and I’m not quite sure he has an infield hit all year. They’re all doubles and homers.
“So, it’s like there’s no one to compare to him. Certainly not walking around right now — outside [Barry] Bonds. I mean, so, it’s just … what a wonderful experience to have him on my team and being around him.”
A little earlier that afternoon, Giancarlo Stanton, one of the few people ever to know what it’s like to club home runs at that clip, offered a contemporary measuring stick for his teammate’s tear.
“He’s playing a video game,” said Stanton, who banged 59 home runs for the Miami Marlins in 2017. “All of us are out here grinding.”
Three days later, Marcus Stroman decided video games were yesterday’s news.
“It’s maybe even better than video game numbers,” Stroman said. “You know they say, like, ‘Oh, this guy’s like a video game.’ It’s better than that.
“I’m just trying to be present and take it all in, to be honest with you, because it’s something you may never see again. I’m just trying to witness it and really feel it in the moment.”
During a game last week, Stroman stood next to fellow starter Nestor Cortes in the Yankees’ dugout and marveled at Judge’s abilities.
“He was like, ‘Oh man, this guy’s incredible,'” Cortes recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I watched this in 2022 all year. It felt like every time he goes up to bat it was either a homer or a walk, and that’s exactly what’s happening now.”
The reality is Judge is better than he was in 2022, and he’s reached another level in August. In 21 games this month, he’s batting .425 with 12 home runs and a 1.544 OPS — all tops in the majors. Of 181 qualified players, 169 have an OPS at or below Judge’s .986 slugging percentage. He has hit four home runs in his past five games, seven in his past seven games and nine in his past 11 games.
With the outburst, he became the first player to ever have 50 home runs, 120 RBIs and 100 walks before September. He’s the fifth player ever to hit 50 home runs in three different seasons. With a month and change remaining, he’s on track to become the third player with multiple 60 home run seasons. There’s no sign of him — or the questions — slowing down.
“Hard to wrap your head around it,” Boone said. “We talk about it a lot, just what he’s doing, because I get asked about it all the time. Not just in these pressers, but people coming up to you. I’m kind of running out of words to say you’re witnessing greatness. You really are. He’s just kind of better than everyone.”
LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.
Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.
Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.
Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.
He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.
Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.
Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.
A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.
Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.
Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.
Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.
Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.
The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
-
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.
Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.
O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.
Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.
In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.
Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.
Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.
The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.
LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.
Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway