About a month ago, there was concern that New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was starting to decline. As of April 22, he was batting .174 with a .308 on-base percentage, .337 slugging percentage, three home runs and 31 strikeouts. Judge is 32 years old, and it was entirely conceivable that his hard-hitting, strikeout-heavy pitching style was starting to catch up with him.
Let me just say that there’s nothing to worry about too much right now.
In Friday’s 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants, Judge hit his 19th and 20th home runs of the season, putting him alone among MLB’s all-time hitters.
The first hit came in the top of the first inning, with a runner on third and one out and the count full, when Judge caught a well-placed split ball from Giants starter Jordan Hicks and drove it into the left field stands.
Judge also homered in the sixth inning, hitting an inside sinker to center field to record his first multi-home run game of the season and become the first player to reach 20 home runs in major league baseball.
Judge previously tied Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker for the most home runs with 18.
But that first home run didn’t just give Judge the MLB lead — it also broke the Yankees’ record for most extra-base hits in May with 25, a feat previously held by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, according to MLB Network.
It’s an unusual statistic to be sure, but it still shows just how unstoppable Judge has been since he hit his stride. He finished May with an astounding .371 batting average, .488 on-base percentage, .928 slugging percentage and 14 home runs. He currently leads the AL in doubles (18), home runs (20), walks (45), slugging percentage (.648), total bases (138) and OPS (1.056).
That effort, along with Juan Soto, who leads the AL in on-base percentage, and a surprisingly strong Yankees starting rotation, have led the Yankees to a 40-19 record through Friday and a first place spot in the AL East.
