The New York Yankees are 38-23 to start the year, and Aaron Judge is having an MVP-caliber season, again. He is practically a lock for the All-Star Game, but the slugger has made it clear where he stands on the Home Run Derby.
The Home Run Derby is a unique part of the All-Star Break, but the game’s best do not always participate. Judge is no different. He participated as a rookie and won, but has since declined. According to Newsday’s Erik Boland, Judge’s stance has not changed.
“Nope,” Judge told Boland when asked if he would participate. “Same answer. Only if I’m talking about it here.”
Jude won the Home Run Derby at Marlins Park as a rookie, but has since stated that he would only ever participate again if the event were at his home ballpark, Yankee Stadium. Judge does not need the Home Run Derby to validate his power swing, and not participating in the event lets him preserve his body for a postseason run.
Judge has hit 21 home runs this season, trailing just Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is the current favorite to win the American League MVP, but it’s not his home run numbers that are catching eyes.
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Judge leads baseball with a .392 batting average, and a .400 season is not unrealistic. There is still plenty of season left to play, and carrying a .400 average throughout an entire season is unthinkable nowadays. No player has hit .400 for a season since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1991.
Judge is already a two-time MVP, six-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger. He has cemented himself as one of the greats of this generation, but he is still chasing his first World Series championship.
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