In his very first at-bat of spring training, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge struck look looking.
It didn’t take the superstar long to turn his day around.
Judge stepped up to the plate with two on and one out in the bottom of the third inning against the Houston Astros. He took the first two pitches he saw, then grounded a high fastball through the left side for a single.
Both runners came around to score, putting the Yankees on top 3-1.
Judge is fresh off winning his second AL MVP, as well as his first AL pennant. He hit .322 with 58 home runs, 36 doubles, 144 RBIs, 133 walks, an 1.159 OPS and 10.8 WAR in the regular season before batting .184 with a .752 OPS in the playoffs.
The soon-to-be 32-year-old outfielder is due $40 million in 2025, plus each of the next six seasons.
New York has moved Judge back from center field to right field after Juan Soto left in free agency this winter. He caught a fly ball in his lone defensive chance of the afternoon Saturday before heading to the bench in the fourth inning.
