Aaron Judge He’s usually composed when hitting home runs in MLB ballparks, but there was some anger behind his 300th career run on Wednesday night.
top of the eighth inning New York Yankees Leading 6-2, Judge decided to use his universal green light on a 3-0 count to hit an inside-out fastball over the left field wall for his 300th blast.
Judge also made history in the process, becoming the fastest player in MLB history to reach the milestone – 132 games fewer than previous record holder Ralph Kiner.
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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hits a three-run home run in the eighth inning against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on August 14, 2024, the 300th home run of his career. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Speaking to reporters after the game, Judge admitted he was upset that he had been hit by a three-run homer before the game was completely out of his reach. white sox He decided to intentionally walk the batter in front of him: All-Star Juan Soto.
“I was angered by this deliberate peddling,” he said. New York Post“So, that’s kind of how it came about. Usually at 3-0, I’ll take a pitch, watch the pitch, and then hand it off to the next guy. In that situation, if they want to pitch to you, you’ve got to step up.”
Judge is usually the player pitched around or even intentionally walked by the pitcher, as this year’s AL MVP leading man has wreaked havoc on pitchers all over the league. Catcher Austin Wells is the player that pitchers like to face in the cleanup spot on most nights.
Yankees’ Aaron Boone concerned about idea of intentional walk amid recent treatment of Aaron Judge
However, Soto pitched brilliantly in the White Sox series, having the first three-home run game of his career on Tuesday night and giving the Yankees a start with a solo shot in the top of the first inning on Wednesday.
So, Chad Kuhl watched from his dugout the move to walk Soto with an open base, and Judge took it to heart. What made Judge’s home run even more impressive was that it would have been called a ball if he didn’t swing, as it was sinking inward.
Instead, Judge brought his hands in and swung the ball. And while he usually runs immediately toward first base despite knowing the ball was going to be an out, Judge admired this ball for a moment before looking toward the dugout to thank his teammates before rounding the bases.
White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore explained the decision to take Soto out and have Judge pitch after the game.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees is doused with water after the game against the White Sox during which, in the eighth inning, Judge hit the 300th home run of his career in Chicago on August 14, 2024. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
“It’s time for you to pick your poison,” Sizemore said, according to the Post. “I’m not trying to get at Judge. I had the bases open, (Soto) had four homers against us. There’s no solution or easy way to get out of that jam, but Soto is definitely the faster of those two batters, even though Judge is pretty fast as well. Again, we were just playing to the situation there. We were already in trouble, the bases were open, just trying to get out of it any way we could.”
The pairing of Soto and Judge has been discussed as some of the best in baseball history this season, as their first season together has been a great duo, with Soto batting second in the lineup and Judge behind him. It’s an easy decision for manager Aaron Boone to put them next to each other because pitchers are forced to “pick their poison,” as Sizemore said.
Sizemore spoke about how great of a player Soto was, and that was the case in this series as he tried to lead his team to a win on Tuesday night to avoid a Monday night loss to the league’s worst team.
While Soto’s .298/.448/.800 slash line in 12 games this month is extremely impressive — he also has seven homers during that span — Judge has been off with his production in August.
Judge began the month with a .318 average, and it’s now at .333 after his fourth straight multihit game on Wednesday night. He’s hitting .500/.643/.875 with four homers, three doubles and 16 walks in 12 games.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees runs the bases after hitting the 300th home run of his career during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox on August 14, 2024. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
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Of these 16 walks, seven were intentional, whereas prior to that only six intentional walks had been given the entire season.
In short, both Soto and Judge are putting up great performances for the Yankees and it’s hard to decide which one to pick. But if you’re going to pick Judge, know that there might be some anger behind that red-hot bat.
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