The latest hulk to terrorize baseballs is a big dude who goes by the name of Aaron Judge. He’s currently leading the majors in home runs, each were hit strong enough to add another crater on the moon. With that kind of power, Judge’s popularity has rapidly increased. Of course it helps that he’s playing for the New York Yankees. But there’s more about Judge apart from being a killer at the plate. Let’s get to know this walking home run factory a bit more.
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What you need to know about Aaron Judge
1. Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year?
How well is Judge playing this year? So good that people are speculating his chances of winning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors this year.Judge is slashing .317/.410/.772 this year with 13 home runs. He’s a big reason why the Yankees are surprisingly on top of the American League East when preseason projections had them clustered with the Tampa Bay Rays in the pits of the division.
For his strong play so far, Judge was given the Rookie of the Month award in April, when he batted .303 and blasted 10 homers. He’s on pace to win another this May in which he’s currently batting .360 with three dingers on 25 plate appearances. In history, there were only two players who were named MVP and Rookie of the Year simultaneously: Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki. Will Judge be the third?
2. He’s a big human being
Judge has the size that belongs in the NBA. He has 275 pounds of beast flesh stuffed inside his 6-foot-7 frame. For comparison, Golden State Warriors power forward stands 6-foot-7 also but weighs just 230 pounds. There aren’t too many baseball players bigger than Judge. Since 2000, there were only seven MLB hitters that stood at least 6-foot-7. He used his size on the hardwood back in high school, when he played basketball as a three-sport star. He even donned a No. 23 jersey.
3. He played football
Not content on dominating the hardcourt and the diamond, Judge also brought his size and innate athleticism to the gridiron. He suited up as a wide receiver for Linden High School in California and broke single-season record in receiving yard touchdowns and career touchdowns by a wideout. Who knows, if Judge had focused on football, he could’ve been a Rob Gronkowski or a Jimmy Graham.
4. He made history in his first MLB game
Judge made his MLB debut last year and made immediate impact for the Yankees and on the record books. Along with fellow newbie Tyler Austin, they were the first teammates ever to hit back-to-back blasts in their first major league appearance.
5. He is superstitious
Baseball is arguably the sport most entwined with superstitions. And Judge already has developed his. In an interview with YES Network, the 25-year-old slugger revealed that he chews a gum at the start of the game keeps it in his mouth so long as he gets a hit. If he got struck out or failed to record a hit, he’ll change the gum with a new one. There haven’t been a lot of gums chewed on by Judge lately, though, with the way he’s hitting.
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