Even when it seems New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge can’t find a way to raise his lofty bar, he does.
This season, the two-time American League MVP is off to one of the best starts of his career. In his first five games, he had four home runs, 11 RBI and a 1.560 OPS. In Thursday night’s home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 32-year-old slugger kept rocking.
In the bottom of the first inning, Judge crushed a 93 mph four-seam fastball from Arizona pitcher Merrill Kelly for a 394-foot two-run home run. New York first baseman Ben Rice and right fielder Cody Bellinger scored. Then he singled in the bottom of the fourth inning, sending Rice home.
In the process, Judge became the second player in MLB history to log five-plus homers and 15-plus RBI through his first six games (since RBI became a stat in 1920), via OptaSTATS. The other was Yankees legend Babe Ruth in 1932.
That season, Ruth helped the Yankees win the World Series. New York fans hope Judge — who still hasn’t won a championship — can do the same.
New York hasn’t won the World Series since 2009. Last season, the Yankees made it to the Fall Classic but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
This season, New York should have a solid chance to return to the World Series and capture its 28th championship, especially if Judge keeps raking. As of Thursday night, FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Yankees the second-best odds (plus-700) to win the World Series behind the Dodgers (plus-240).
