New York Yankees rookie sensation Aaron Judge has seen his home-run pace decline recently. He entered Saturday having homered just twice since his two-dinger effort on May 2, and one of those came on May 3.
Yet Judge added another notch to his bat on Saturday, taking Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Matt Andriese deep for his 15th shot on the season. By doing so, Judge joined select company in Yankees history:
Yankees w/ 15+ HR in Team's 1st 40 Games:
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) May 20, 2017
Aaron Judge
A-Rod (2007)
Tino Martinez (1997)
Mickey Mantle (1956)
Babe Ruth (4 times)
If joining a list that includes Alex Rodriguez, Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth wasn't enough, Judge barely missed out on becoming the quickest rookie hitter to swat 15 long ones in a season. Instead he'll have to settle for being the quickest to 15 home runs in a season since 1987:
Aaron Judge is the fastest rookie to hit 15 HR in a season since Mark McGwire (1987) via @EliasSports. Tied for 3rd-fastest in MLB history pic.twitter.com/346yOWR0vY
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 20, 2017
Judge entered Saturday hitting .323/.423/.699. He's probably not done setting impressive rookie marks.
