It’s safe to say that Aaron Judge lived up to the hype on Monday night.
The New York Yankees’ rookie star came into the 2017 Home Run Derby getting all the talk after blasting an MLB-leading 30 homers in the first half, with many of those dingers having absurd exit velocities and distances.
And all he did on Monday night was make Marlins Park look like a little league field. Judge crushed 47 homers on the night, hit several homers 500+ feet, and won the final round with ease to become the Home Run Derby champion.
Here’s a look at his dinger-blasting show, with some Spanish calls (ESPN2 broadcast) mixed in because why the hell not?
.@TheJudge44 hit FOUR homers over 500 feet, including this 513-foot blast – longest of the @Tmobile #HRDerby. pic.twitter.com/nWCYOQVVlY
— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2017
And some tweets about his amazing night:
https://twitter.com/statcast/status/884599872317526018
All 15.7 miles of HRs… What a great derby! Congrats to @TheJudge44 pic.twitter.com/wLxCkDPXvo
— Daren Willman (@darenw) July 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/statcast/status/884599872317526018
Charlie Blackmon, on Aaron Judge's swing: "He’s so quiet and simple that he looks like a contact hitter trapped in an ogre’s body."
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) July 11, 2017
We all love the thunderous 500-foot shots to the pull side, but Judge's opposite-field power is so immense it might be even more impressive. https://t.co/L5XWRHkARl
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 11, 2017
Rare is the event and the star that both exceed expectations on the same night. The Home Run Derby and Aaron Judge did just that.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 11, 2017
As Jeff Passan alluded to, the opposite field power from Judge was especially incredible to watch on this night. He crushed the ball from foul pole to foul pole, just going with the pitch and making the power look easy to all fields. That’s the sign of a rare, special talent.
And we should see plenty more years of these glorious dingers, as Judge is only 25 years old.
[ESPN; ESPN2; MLB]
