Fastball

Aaron Judge of New York Yankees is Putting Up Numbers Not Seen Since 1956

The Yankees rallied to beat the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon as Judge blasted his 15th homer of the season.
Brady Farkas|
New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) hits a single against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park on May 14.
New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) hits a single against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park on May 14. | John Froschauer-Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

The New York Yankees rallied to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The win gave the Yankees a series win and improved their record to 25-18, while the loss dropped Seattle to 23-19.

Both teams are in first place in their respective divisions.

As he has so many times already this season, Aaron Judge helped fuel the victory for New York, going 2-for-4 with a home run. That blast in the eighth inning turned a 2-2 tie into the Yankees lead, and eventual win.

He's now hitting a ridiculous .412 as he tries to become the first player to hit .400 for a season since Ted Williams in 1941 (.406). The home run was his 15th and put him in a very small group in baseball history, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Highest batting average with 15+ home runs in team’s first 43 games:

1956 Mickey Mantle: .419
1932 Jimmie Foxx: .415
2025 Aaron Judge: .412
2001 Manny Ramirez: .406
1930 Chuck Klein: .403

A six-time All-Star and a four-time Silver Slugger, Judge is now on track to win his third American League MVP Award. What's even more impressive is that he's putting up these numbers without the lineup protection of Juan Soto (free agency), Giancarlo Stanton (injury) and Cody Bellinger (hitting just .229).

After a successful West Coast trip, the Yankees will head home for a weekend series with the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium.

First pitch on Friday is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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