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Perhaps President Donald Trump’s pregame speech lit a fire under Aaron Judge.
The New York Yankees superstar, who is looking to win his third MVP in four years, homered twice after meeting with Trump, who called him a “fantastic player,” in the Bronx Bombers’ 9-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
During his trip to the clubhouse on the 24th anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, Trump complimented Judge’s 6-foot-7, 282-pound frame.
“If you have that much muscle, you have to hit the ball further,” Trump said. “You’re a fantastic player.”
Trump also joked that he wished Judge was “a little bigger.”
Judge homered in both his first and second at-bats for his 45th and 46th home runs of the season. The second put him in a tie with Joe DiMaggio for fourth place on the Yankees’ all-time home runs list with 361.
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He was plunked on the first pitch of his third plate appearance, prompting many boos. He singled in the fifth and struck out looking in the seventh to go 3-for-4 on the night.
Judge is the reigning MVP but is currently battling Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who already has an MLB-high 53 homers albeit a .241 batting average and an OPS nearly 200 points lower than Judge’s. If Juddge brings home the hardware this year, he would become the first Yankee to win back-to-back MVP Awards since Roger Maris in 1960 and 1961.
He would also be the first Yankees player to win the MVP Award three times in four years since DiMaggio did it from 1939 to 1942.
He also now has 100 RBI on the season and is four home runs away from the fourth 50-homer season of his career. He would join Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Babe Ruth as the only players with as many 50-homer campaigns.
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