All Rise For 51

08/31/2022 All Rise For 51

By: Matthew Cahill

Aaron Judge Launches 51st Home Run Before September

What else is there to say that we haven’t this season about Aaron Judge? While the Yankees have recently been a roller coaster of high highs and low lows, one thing has been consistent throughout, and that’s Aaron Judge destroying baseballs. Last night, Judge hit his 51st home run of the season in New York’s 7-4 victory over the Angels. The blast puts him just ten away from reaching the illustrious 61 mark set by Roger Maris. With a little over a month left in the season, I like Judge’s chances to end up making history and surpass Maris.

 

On top of one of the greatest power-hitting seasons we’ve ever seen, Aaron Judge is also on track to win his first MVP award as well. Admittedly, it is hard to reasonably say anyone is more valuable than the unicorn that is Shohei Ohtani, but Judge is truly putting up a performance for the ages. Currently, his 51 homers, 113 RBIs, and 104 runs are already numbers worthy of MVP. The crazy thing is that he has another 32 games to juice them up even more. On top of all that, Judge is tied for third in the MLB with a .398 on-base percentage. As he rounds out one of the best hitting seasons we’ve seen in recent memory, it’s getting harder and harder by the day to say that Judge isn’t the AL MVP.

 

Watch: Aaron Judge Hits 51st Homer of the Season

 

MLB Quick-Hitters

 

Dodgers Continue Their Dominance Against the Mets

With the two best teams in the National League facing off, it was the Dodgers continuing to roll as they took the first of a three-game series against the Mets with a 4-3 victory. It’s apparent that LA has New York’s number, as they are now 25-7 against the Mets since 2017.

 

Justin Verlander Goes on the IL

Houston announced on Tuesday that Justin Verlander has suffered a right calf injury. The 39-year-old is currently in the midst of a resurgence, as he is currently the favorite to win the Cy Young award for the third time in his career after missing essentially two full seasons due to injury.

 

Additional Storylines

Yahoo!: Judge Hits 51st HR as Yankees Snap Skid, Top Angels 7-4

ESPN: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw to Return vs. New York Mets on Thursday 

 

Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images