Yankees Star Aaron Judge Joins Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. in Baseball History

Though they lost on Thursday afternoon, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge still entered a very prestigious club in baseball history.
New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge and other players celebrate clinching a playoff spot after the win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Sept 18.
New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge and other players celebrate clinching a playoff spot after the win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Sept 18. / John Froschauer-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees lost on Thursday afternoon to the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Though the 3-2 setback was disappointing, the Yankees still took two-of-three from Seattle.

In doing so, they are 4.0 games up on the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. They officially punched their ticket to the playoffs on Wednesday night.

New York is 89-64. Seattle is 78-75.

In the loss, Yankees star Aaron Judge went 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Though he didn't hit a home run, he did enter another prestigious group in baseball history.

Per @CodifyBaseball on social media:

Aaron Judge is the 3rd player in history to hit 53 home runs and steal 10 bases in a single MLB season (Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. are the others)

Ruth is among the successful and impactful players in baseball history, and Griffey Jr. is one of the best players in league history, so to join them in any group is quite a feat.

It's just another dominant season for Judge, who is likely to win his second MVP Award in three years. He's hitting .321 with the 53 homers and 136 RBI. He has the 10 stolen bases and is carrying a 1.142 OPS thus far.

At 32-years-old, he's the most feared hitter in the American League.

The Yankees will take on the Oakland Athletics on Friday night as they continue their West Coast swing. Gerrit Cole will take the ball for New York against JT Ginn.

Cole is 6-5 with a 3.97 ERA.

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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.