SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Judge remembers childhood afternoons spent in the stands of what is now known as Oracle Park, getting autographs from players like Rich Aurilia, his favorite Giants infielder of that era, and imagining his big league dreams in orange and black and rounding those beautiful bases over and over again.
He wouldn’t realize that original dream twice until Friday, when Judge appeared in his first career game at China Basin in the Yankees’ series opener against San Francisco. He hit a three-run homer in the third inning and a solo homer in the sixth off San Francisco right-hander Jordan Hicks to put the finishing touches on his May monster in a 6-2 Yankees victory.
“I always dreamed of just hanging out in my backyard a little bit,” Judge said, “going around the bases and looking out to left field and being in those bleachers a few times. It brought back memories. This is a special place. I grew up a Giants fan and loved watching the games here. It’s pretty cool to be on the other side of the field.”
The Yankees won 14 of 18 games to become the first American League team to reach 40 wins this season. Judge’s 35th multi-home run game extended his major league home run record to 20, with 14 of his hits coming in the month of May.
With 27 consecutive games on base, Judge became the first Yankee player in history to hit at least 14 home runs and 12 doubles in a single month, surpassing the record set by Lou Gehrig, who had 12 home runs and 12 doubles in July 1930.
Judge’s 38 extra-base hits in 59 games were a Yankees record through May, surpassing Gehrig’s previous record of 36 (1927, 43 games).
“It’s unbelievable what Judge’s doing right now,” said Marcus Stroman, who pitched the winning 7 1/3 innings. “He’s ready to go. It’s great to see him get this far, because it’s been a pretty historic run. I think we take it for granted sometimes.”
Added Anthony Rizzo: “Every day is special playing with him and watching him work behind the scenes as an individual and as a teammate. We’re in the midst of greatness, so we have to be grateful for that. It’s fun to watch.”
The judge, of course, did it We were playing at Oracle Park much earlier.
The Giants offered Judge, who is expected to hit 62 home runs in 2022, breaking the American League record set 61 years ago by Roger Maris, a nine-year, $360 million contract as a free agent. Judge, who grew up about 100 miles away in rural Linden, Calif., seriously considered the offer, touring the ballpark and dining with team officials. Judge’s parents, Patty and Wayne, were also ready for a homecoming.
The infamous “Judge Arson” tweet sparked panic in the Yankees’ front office during the Winter Meetings that year. As he emerged from the shower in his San Diego hotel room, manager Aaron Boone called general manager Brian Cashman’s cell phone with a trembling voice and asked, “Have we lost him?”
“I’ve been saying that for a few years now. It was a while ago, but we were pretty close,” Judge said.
After much deliberation, Judge and his wife, Samantha, decided to settle in New York for another chance at a championship after the team lost in that year’s American League Championship Series. Rizzo, one of Judge’s closest friends in sports, had a front-row seat.
“He’s always been sober, but he was close to home,” Rizzo said. “This was a big decision.”
It took numerous late-night text messages and phone calls with Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner to get the deal done, with Steinbrenner agreeing to match San Francisco’s offer and, as a bonus, telling Judge he wanted to make him the franchise’s first captain since Derek Jeter.
“In the end, it all worked out,” Boone said before Friday’s game. “Aaron is where he should be, in my opinion.”
Judge was booed before his first at-bat Friday night, then cheered after he hit a home run. Hicks barely even turned around. A large crowd of Yankees fans was in the stadium, many of them accompanying Judge, who had offered tickets to many of his friends and family to attend the weekend series that has been years in the making.
“I was a little nervous because I hadn’t hit a home run at BP,” Judge said. [Bonds] A lot of the guys back then made their defense look pretty small at times. Once you stepped in between the lines, you had to be focused and approach it like a baseball game. Once you stepped in, you just had to go.”
