It’s unlikely that the New York Yankees or Aaron Judge will look back at the 2023 season with much fondness. The Yankees have been a non-factor in the playoff race while Judge missed a significant portion of the season due to injury. Despite that, Judge reached a milestone previously not accomplished by a single Yankees star.
In Friday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Judge hit three home runs. Almost exactly a month earlier, he had a three-home run game against the Washington Nationals.
No player in the long and storied history of the franchise had ever recorded a pair of three-home run games in the same season.
Aaron Judge is the first player in Yankees history with 2 3-HR games in a season.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) September 23, 2023
Baseball fans had a lot to say about Judge’s history-making achievement.
What. A. Stat. https://t.co/C85BtIr9iL
— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken2) September 23, 2023
This is a truly amazing stat. https://t.co/T2HhMO47fD
— Julio (@ballandpuck) September 23, 2023
Legend https://t.co/M4TIMKs0kD
— Kev (@kdubbinn) September 23, 2023
This is insane when you think about the names that have worn that uniform. https://t.co/K1MzcoT76y
— #BLM Giancarlo (@BLM_Stanton) September 23, 2023
Given that every MLB franchise has been around since at least 1998, this would be an impressive first for any player on any team. For the Yankees, it’s even more remarkable.
While the Yankees haven’t won or even appeared in a World Series since 2009, they are the most successful franchise in MLB history — and by a wide margin. No two teams combined have won as many championships. Unless the St. Louis Cardinals are one of them, no three teams have as many combined titles.
The Yankees have reached those heights largely on the strength of great hitters. It’s a list that includes (but is certainly not limited to), Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Don Mattingly, Alex Rodriguez and of course, Judge himself.
It just goes to show how tough hitting three home runs in one game is. And it also shows that, even in a year when things haven’t gone all that well for either himself or his team, Judge is still capable of incredible things.
