Aaron Judge continues to solidify his place among Yankees legends, hitting his 362nd career home run. This historic hit allowed him to break the tie with Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio and take exclusive possession of fourth place on the franchise’s all-time home run list. The home run occurred in the Yankees’ 4-1 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Judge reached 362 home runs in his number 1,130 game. DiMaggio, for his part, played 1,736 games and hit his last home run on September 28, 1951, at the end of a 13-year career that was interrupted by three seasons due to his service in World War II. Babe Ruth (659 home runs), Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493) are the only players who have hit more home runs than Judge as a Yankee. It’s special. But all those guys in front of me and on those lists, they didn’t play for records, they played to win. So I’m just trying to follow in their footsteps. I’m here to win and I’m trying to help put this team in the best position every night. Judge contributed quickly on Friday. A day after tying DiMaggio at Yankee Stadium, Judge connected on the second pitch he saw from Lucas Giolito, sending the ball 468 feet over the Green Monster and into Lansdowne Street, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. This was Judge’s 47th home run of the season and the 19th he has hit in the first inning, breaking the historical record that Alex Rodriguez first set in 2001 and that Judge tied last season. The two-time American League Most Valuable Player, and strong favorite to win the award for the third time in four years, has hit four home runs in four games after going six games without hitting one.
Judge served as the Yankees’ designated hitter on Friday, as the team continues to rotate him cautiously between the outfield and DH to avoid aggravating the strain in his right arm flexor. It was his 30th start as a designated hitter since returning from the injured list on August 5. Judge returned to right field last week after being limited to DH for a month after being activated from the injured list and has made four starts in right field. Boone acknowledged that the club is considering having Judge play in left field against the Red Sox on Saturday or Sunday, as right field at Fenway Park is significantly larger than left field and that could require Judge to make longer and riskier throws.I feel like he’s getting there on time. He’s finishing his move, so he’s getting into a really strong hitting position… And I feel like he’s taken a lot of Aaron Judge-type swings. Really controlling the strike zone while doing it. So yeah, it looks good to me. In these last few days, I feel like he’s really started to lock in.
Aaron Boone, Yankees Manager
