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But Stanton under-performed in his home stadium and was eliminated in the very first round by the underdog Sano. But it was Judge who provided the fireworks in the competition, and then some. Judge's 23 first-round homers marked the third-best round in Home Run Derby history, trailing only Josh Hamilton's 28 in 2008 and Bobby Abreu's 24 in 2005. "He's so quiet and simple that he looks like a contact hitter trapped in an ogre's body," the Rockies' Charlie Blackmon said. "I don't know that the game has ever seen a power like that. Stanton has the most velocity, but I think Judge is going to be a really interesting career to follow." "I'm a rookie. This is my first time doing it. For me, I got no expectations. I'm just going to go in there and have some fun."
"He has plenty of years to do it. People forget the marathon of the season. That's our one day off of the season. Fellow Yankee and two-time derby participant Giancarlo Stanton supports whatever Judge wants to do. "Derby wasn't even that big of a toll, to be honest. It was just like taking BP. It wasn't anything too taxing. I wasn't trying to swing 110 percent. I was taking a normal percent swing, just trying to make contact." "One and done, Home Run Derby champion," Judge told reporters Thursday morning.
Yankees preparing offer to top free agent in another battle with Giants
And there is more to Aaron Judge than home runs, though they’ve kind of become synonymous. And there’s a lot more to a man’s career than batting practice exhibitions, except for some reason the stories are endless of who will and won’t participate in MLB’s signature event. This is not to say Judge can’t or won’t change his mind, only that he was pretty sure of his decision Thursday, and it wouldn’t seem another four months of swings out of that shoulder and games on that psyche would make him more likely to consent to defend his title.
In 2022, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred promised these problems had been solved. Major League Baseball was moving to a new, lighter ball, tacitly admitting to the “Juiced Ball” era while simultaneously stamping it out. Manfred swore up and down that these issues were in the past, a product of COVID supply chain issues back in 2020 and 2021, but here they were again, rearing their ugly head.
Aaron Judge, Yankees play Home Run Derby in clobbering Cubs, 8-0
This time, he outslugged some of baseball's top stars, including local favorites Giancarlo Stanton and Justin Bour of the Miami Marlins. The larger-than-life New York Yankees slugger dominated the All-Star Home Run Derby in the same manner he has smashed his way through his rookie season, beating Minnesota's Miguel Sano with two minutes to spare in the final on Monday night. The question is whether Judge can hang with Stanton, who last year put on the type of performance the Home Run Derby has never seen before. He hit 61 homers throughout the event, beating the old record by 20.
It’s hard to plan for contingencies when you’re 24 hours out from Opening Day. New York manager Joe Girardi said he isn't worried about Judge picking up bad habits in his swing because of the repeated exertions in the derby and extra batting practice before the event. Judge dominated the competition and made it look easy at times en route to being crowned the 2017 derby champion. He defeated Miguel Sano of the Minnesota Twins to win the derby and left fans in attendance and at home with their jaws collectively on the floor with some of the absolute bombs that he hit. Judge, 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds, hit 47 home runs in the derby that totaled 3.9 miles.
Regular Season
Now he’s capping his breakout first half with the one thing every baseball fan wants to see — Judge in the Derby, the first step toward a potential showdown with Giancarlo Stanton. Connecting on the winning homer with one second left on the clock, Bellinger advanced to the semifinals of the Home Run Derby with a win over Blackmon on Monday night. Judge leads MLB with 30 home runs, and had plenty of support in the crowd from Yankees fans wearing the English-style white judge’s wigs. But he needed a monster effort to beat Bour, who delighted his home crowd with quite a show — 22 homers, and one doughnut eaten in a time-out.
"Pressure won't do anything," said Judge, who fell into a deep hitting slump after winning last year's Derby. The Giants have viewed Yastrzemski as a crucial swing piece, someone who is great in right but also good in center. That allowed them to chase the dream of adding Haniger and Judge, but they now will have to pivot. After watching the AL home run king stay in New York, the outfield focus now will be a familiar one. Judge was Plan A, but adding an elite center fielder could push Haniger -- an average right fielder with a strong arm -- to left, and Yastrzemski to right, where he is potentially a Gold Glove Award winner.
ESPN
He homered on his first swing, then slumped for a bit before rallying to hit his 10th with about a minute left. Only line drives and pop-ups were left for him though, and Sano advanced. Miguel Sano of the Minnesota Twins has reached the semifinals of the Home Run Derby, topping Kansas City’s Mike Moustakas in the opening matchup Monday night at Marlins Park.
Unfortunately, the roof is considered in play and therefore wasn’t ruled a homer. And Judge faced a significant challenge before he even stepped to the plate, watching from the batting cage as Bour put 22 on the board. The 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge responded with 23, including a 501-foot blast that cleared the home run sculpture in left-center field. Five years ago, Judge won the college home run derby in Omaha, Nebraska.
He passed Joe DiMaggio’s record with his 30th long ball of the season. "I had no pressure going into it. I'm a rookie," Judge said. Aaron Judge lived up to the hype of his remarkable rookie campaign by slamming nearly four miles of home runs on Monday evening at Marlins Park, including four drives of more than 500 feet, crowning the Yankees' slugger as the newest champion of the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Bellinger, hitting off his dad, former big leaguer Clay Bellinger, earned bonus time as four minutes expired with his 13th drive, into the right-field upper deck, then with five seconds remaining knocked out Blackmon 15-14.
ESPN Stats & InformationOn average, players that competed in the HR Derby needed an extra 5.6 AB per HR in the second half than they did in the first half. By comparison, the league average actually improved ever so slightly following the break. Judge, the 6-foot-7 New York Yankees titan who leads MLB in homers and is challenging for the AL triple crown, has been teasing us for a while.
Jose Trevino, who hit the pinch-hit “walk-off” single that ended Friday night’s game, hit his fifth homer of the season to lead off the fifth inning. That came in his 95th at-bat of the season and matches the catcher’s total for all of last season, which took him 285 at-bats. NEW YORK — Friday night, the Yankees had to work extra hard just to squeak one out, but Saturday night in the Bronx the Bombers left no doubts. They hit the Cubs early and often, hammering a season-high six home runs, including two from MLB-leading slugger Aaron Judge, and Jordan Montgomery threw seven scoreless innings as they beat the Cubs, 8-0, at Yankee Stadium.
But those figures were exchanged before his monster start to the season. "I try to take everything one day at a time. That's what's helped me along this first half of the year," Judge said. "I have had wonderful people help me out through the years. And I can't thank them enough for where I'm at right now." Even after the unforgettable display, Judge still appeared to have energy left in the tank, suggesting that he may already be ready to defend the title. Stacked end to end, Judge's homers traveled 3.9 miles and would have enough distance to reach from home plate at Marlins Park into nearby Biscayne Bay.
It stands to reason Buxton has no intention of comprising his health in any way whatsoever, particularly with what felt like a close call with his knee earlier this season. As the Twins try to find their way in a tightly contested AL Central, Buxton will be essential for the back half. Guerrero, who has been battling a wrist injury this season, cited that as the reason he doesn't want to take more hacks this year. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees bats during the 2017 T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Marlins Park on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Judge said Tuesday that he received the invitation last week through his agent but had not yet decided whether to accept. Judge is seeking $21 million for 2022, while the Yankees have countered at $17 million.
Both Judge and Sanchez opted to have their regular batting-practice pitcher, Danilo Valiente, toss to them in Miami. Judge said that the 51-year-old Valiente has a knack for finding the barrel of his bat.
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