Aaron Judge's play paying off for slugger and Yankees
Yankees' Aaron Judge runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Baltimore. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
BALTIMORE – Aaron Judge said in March his contract – or lack of a long-term one – would not be a distraction in the regular season.
His manager, Aaron Boone, was equally insistent the rightfielder would be just fine, regardless of whether an extension was reached with the club or not.
Judge has been, of course, better than fine.
The 30-year-old is off to the best start of his career since his AL Rookie of the Year season in 2017, and very much in the early discussion for this year’s AL MVP.
Judge, who got the start at DH Wednesday night against the Orioles, come into the night hitting .315 with 14 homers and a 1.076 OPS in 34 games (he was hitting .320 with 14 homers and an 1.149 OPS through 34 games his rookie season).
“He’s handled it exactly like I expected, which is I knew it would be a non-issue,” Boone said Wednesday. “I know what he’s about, I know what he’s focused on. I know how important he is to that team, not only between the lines but in that room (the clubhouse) and how much he wants to win and how much he wants to be a champion, and I know that’s where his focus lies.”
Judge entered Wednesday with an MLB-leading 14 homers and ranked second in the big leagues in slugging (.692), tied for second in extra-base hits (21), third in OPS and RBIs (30). He came in having hit four homers in his last five games, five homers in his last seven games and 10 homers in his last 16 games.
Rortvedt surgery
The Yankees announced that catcher Ben Rortvedt, who started the season on the IL with a right oblique strain, underwent arthroscopic surgery Tuesday for what the club called a “meniscus cleanup.” Rortvedt arrived in the spring from the Twins, along with Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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