First home run in 34 at-bats, now 5 days before the opening, I'm glad the captain hit a home run. Coach Boone who laughed for the first time in a long time

Mar 23, 2025

First home run in 34 at-bats, now 5 days before the opening, I'm glad the captain hit a home run. Coach Boone who laughed for the first time in a long time
New York Yankees Aaron Judge hit his first home run in an exhibition game. ImagesYonhap News



Homerun King'New York Yankees Aaron Judge finally fired his first cannon at an exhibition game.

Judge started as the second designated hitter in the home exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies at George Mstein Brenner Field in Tampa, Florida on the 23rd (Korea time), and swung one hit and three RBIs in three at-bats, including a home run.

Judge hit a home run in his second at-bat in the third inning. Oswald Peraza walked after one out in the bottom of the third inning with the Yankees leading 1-0. No. 1 Paul Goldschmidt then stepped down with a fly ball to center field and Judge entered. The opposing pitcher is left-hander Jesus Luzardo. Judge pulled a 95.6-mile sinker that penetrated his body for the third time on a two-ball count and sent the left fence to a line drive.




It was measured at a launch angle of 26 degrees, a batting speed of 107.7 miles, and a distance of 381 feet.

It is the first time in 12 games and 34 at-bats that Judge has scored a home run in this exhibition game. The Yankees opened the season with a home game against the Milwaukee Brewers on the 28th, so they fired their first cannon just five days before.

First home run in 34 at-bats, now 5 days before the opening, I'm glad the captain hit a home run. Coach Boone who laughed for the first time in a long time
New York Yankees Aaron Judge. ImagesYonhap News
Judge added an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 6-0 lead. The Yankees added three runs with Jason Dominguez's infield hit, JC Escara's timely hit, Peraza's walk, and Goldschmidt's push ball in the chance made by leading Anthony Volpey's walk, Jazz Chisom Jr.'s throw, and continued one-out bases loaded jersey blew a sacrifice fly to the left to run 7-0.




Judge, who had one hit, three RBIs and one run in three at-bats, was replaced by a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. The Yankees failed to keep a seven-point lead due to the bullpen falling into a turmoil and suffered a 7-point loss.

With this, Judge batted .138 (4 for 29) in 12 spring training games, one home run, five RBIs, five runs scored, and an OPS of 0.554.

After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, `It's great to see our captain hit a home run and run,' `I think he's testing and adjusting various things in spring training. Recently, he has succeeded in hitting the ball properly. He showed some good swings today as well"I was satisfied.




First home run in 34 at-bats, now 5 days before the opening, I'm glad the captain hit a home run. Coach Boone who laughed for the first time in a long time
New York Yankees Aaron Judge. ImagesYonhap News
Jersey is classified as 'Slowstarter'. Even when he was named MVP for the second time in his life last year, he found a sense of hitting in May. He hit .207 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in the two months from March to April, and hit .352 with 52 home runs and 126 RBIs in the five months from May to the end of the season. In the end, he was unanimously named AL MVP with a 0.322 batting average, 58 homers and 144 RBIs for the season.

Judge, who went to the FA market after setting the record for the most home runs in an AL season with 62 home runs in 2022, remained with a nine-year, $360 million contract with the Yankees. He continued his strong performance with an OPS of 1.070 with 19 home runs in early 2023, the first season of his contract, but he had a nearly two-month hiatus as he suffered a broken right thumb while defending against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 4. However, after returning to the game in the second half, he swung hard and finished the season with 37 home runs and an OPS of 1.019, and was evaluated as doing his part.

And in his second season of contract, he played 158 healthy games last year, effectively hitting a career high. Judge should lead the Yankees' lineup again this year. However, Juan Soto, who made a pair of shots together last year, moved to the New York Mets, and the batter to protect him disappeared. Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt were newly recruited last winter, but the two players are considered to be past their prime.

On top of that, Giancarlo Stanton is also resting due to elbow and calf injuries, so his return is expected to be delayed after May. One way or the other, Judge's shoulders became heavier.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.