WATCH: Aaron Judges Full Home Run Derby Highlights

Table of Content

• Aaron Judge, Yankees play Home Run Derby in clobbering Cubs, 8-0
• Aaron Judge
• Gerrit Cole’s dips are a nine-figure Yankees issue — now it could be the same for Aaron Judge
• Career Regular Season
• What Giants are planning for outfield after Aaron Judge pursuit falls short
• Aaron Judge’s magical year won’t include Home Run Derby
• Yankees Should Upset Apple Cart in Aaron Judge Home Run Derby
• Who will be baseball's best player for the next five years?5yJeff Sullivan

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.

Hitting without batting gloves, Bour excited fans with 22 homers . Judge, hitting against his regular BP pitcher, Danilo Valiente, had 22 through four minutes, according to the scoreboard, and when he hit one in bonus time he walked away. But scoreboard reverted to 22 — apparently the roof shot was subtracted — and Judge added another with a few seconds left. After a game in San Francisco, started slowly against pitcher Pat Shine, hitting three liners before a 429-foot drive to center. Stanton began to find his grove and hit a 496-foot shot off the glass behind the left-field seats, then started spraying impressive drives. He had 15 when his 30-second bonus road started but added just one more.

Aaron Judge, Yankees play Home Run Derby in clobbering Cubs, 8-0

But about an hour after Kapler addressed the media, Bellinger became a Cub. That was about where we came in, with Judge at his locker with his hands behind his back, a pleasant enough expression if perhaps unsure what he’d done to draw such an early-morning crowd. Turned out, he’d told a The Players’ Tribune podcast he’d probably decline an invitation to return to the derby, and on the fourth Thursday of spring training that counts as interesting, because he’s Aaron Judge. So whichever way you want to spin it, you can, but maybe, just maybe, it’s time to start dusting off that trusty old asterisk once again. Did not appear in a game after being selected by the Yankees in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft...

Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment. Cleared payment cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab. His counterpart, Matt Swarmer didn’t have as long of a night and it started out with a bang. The 30-year-old Judge also is putting up those staggering numbers with free agency looming after he rejected the Yankees’ seven-year, $213.5 million offer just before the season started. Judge was seeded No. 2 entering the derby and some saw him as a clear favorite along with defending champion Giancarlo Stanton.

Aaron Judge

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.

But for Judge to eclipse Roger Maris on theTed Lassoplatform—a show aboutsoccer, no less—is insupportable. Judge homered in his first big league plate appearance last Aug. 13. He has hit 11 home runs to the opposite field in right this year, four to center and nine to left, according to Fangraphs. Judge hit the longest home run of the season, at 495 feet. Growing up, he had thought about what it would be like to swing in the slugger smash-athon.

Gerrit Cole’s dips are a nine-figure Yankees issue — now it could be the same for Aaron Judge

Judge had no trouble hitting the roof, thought to be previously untouched by batted ball. If the finalists from the last three HR Derbies are any indication, you can expect a noticeable dip in their frequency of home runs following the All-Star break. There have been a total of 42 participants in the previous five Home Run Derbies ( ), not including the 2017 event. Of those 42, only two had a second-half OPS at least 100 points higher than their first-half OPS.

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.

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."

When asked in spring training if the post-Derby slump would impact his decision to avoid the event, Judge shook his head. Judge finished the regular season with an AL-leading 52 home runs. Judge, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year and AL home run champion, dismissed any chance that he would change his mind by this year's All-Star break, even if MLB pressured him to participate. "I think he's one of the most interestingly talented defenders in the sport in center field," he said. Baseball America as the Yankees' No. 6 prospect…was also named the IL's "Best Power Prospect" and the league's 19th-best prospect.

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.

Two other American League stars, Byron Buxton and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., also have a claim to the King of Swing crowns. Guerrero turned in an utterly legendary 2019 showdown with eventual champion Pete Alonso, whereas Buxton has been raking this season. He won the event in 2017 during his first All-Star appearance, and he hasn't returned since. This year, he's the first and only player to 30 home runs as we approach the break, with Kyle Schwarber two off his pace in second place. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees reacts after winning the 2017 T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Marlins Park on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida.