August 3rd, 2024
NEW YORK — As Aaron Judge continues to be one of the planet’s hottest hitters, opponents are running out of patience and solutions. After serving up the Yankees captain’s Major League-leading 41st home run in the first inning on Saturday, the Blue Jays decided not to deal with him the second time around.
Judge drew a rare bases-empty intentional walk in the second inning, with Toronto wagering its chances with anyone else would be better. It won that particular gamble, but Trent Grisham and Anthony Volpe later made the Blue Jays pay with two-run homers in the Yankees’ 8-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.
“Just how early it was in the game, it was still pretty close (4-1) at the time,” Judge said. “I guess with two outs there, I think they’re just looking at maybe getting out the next guy. … Hopefully it doesn’t happen again. We’ll see.”
No hitter had been intentionally walked with the bases empty this season, and it happened only three times last year — once to Judge, on May 31 vs. the Mariners. Though it has been referred to as “the Barry Bonds treatment,” even Bonds never had a free pass like this one.
It has been more than 50 years since a player received a bases-empty intentional walk within a game’s first two innings. The most recent example came on Aug. 10, 1972, when the Angels’ Rudy May walked Twins catcher Glenn Borgmann to face pitcher Ray Corbin, months before the American League implemented the designated hitter rule.
“I honestly didn’t feel like seeing him swing,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We talk about being really careful with him, and that’s what can lead to mistakes when you’re trying to be really fine. He’s in a different category than anyone else in the league. He can flip the script of a game with one swing.”
Said Yanks manager Aaron Boone: “We’ve seen it every now and then; we saw it a little bit in ’22, maybe. You kind of understand, take your shots where you can. But I feel like we’re in a better spot to deal with those things. The length of our lineup has really improved here over the last few weeks.”
It seems appropriate that Judge would receive the Bonds treatment; if anything, you can argue it should have happened sooner. On pace to hit 59 homers, Judge owns a 1.154 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage), which would be the highest by any qualifying player in a non-shortened season since Bonds (1.422) in 2004.
“It doesn’t surprise me. He’s the best hitter in the game,” said Carlos Rodón, who tossed 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball for his team-leading 12th victory.
“As a fan, it’s like, ‘He’s probably going to hit a home run or walk.’ He always puts a good at-bat together. There’s not much chase there, and when he makes contact, he does damage. It’s fun to watch, and it’s a must-watch every at-bat, that’s for sure.”
Judge paces the Majors with 41 home runs and 103 RBIs. His first time up, he connected with a 94.2 mph José Berrios sinker for a two-run homer.
A Statcast-calculated 426-foot blast into the visitors’ bullpen, Judge’s drive came off the bat at 102.5 mph and marked his 16th first-inning homer this year, tying Babe Ruth (1927) for the most in franchise history.
“It’s surreal, any time you hear any of those greats that are all around this building, all around this stadium,” Judge said. “It’s almost kind of make-believe, some of the stuff they did.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only Alex Rodriguez (18 in 2001) and Mark McGwire (17 in 1999) have had more first-inning homers in the expansion era (since 1961). Judge credited Juan Soto’s continued impact; Soto was on base after singling on a 3-0 count.
“It’s been a treat getting a chance to hit behind Juan, watching at-bat after at-bat,” Judge said. “He’s working the count, he’s letting me see a bunch of different pitches. He’s making the pitcher work, which helps me out when I step in the box.”
Saturday’s shot was also Judge’s 298th career homer. He will soon become the fastest player to reach 300 career homers in terms of games played. Ralph Kiner (1,087) holds the current record; Judge played in his 945th career game on Saturday.
“We’re watching greatness,” Boone said. “You try not to take that for granted, what we’re seeing [No.] 99 do. You hear a lot of The Babe, [Mickey] Mantle, [Lou] Gehrig, [Joe] DiMaggio — those kinds of names intertwined with a lot of things he’s doing. You try to appreciate every now and then what we have.”