Inside The Pinstripes

Aaron Judge Hits 40th Home Run, Makes Spectacular Catch in Right Field

Aaron Judge has 40 home runs. It's only July 29.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — In a span of less than 24 hours, Aaron Judge has added three shining moments to his Most Valuable Player campaign.

On Thursday night, Judge walloped his third walk-off home run of the season, a blast in the bottom of the ninth that gave the Yankees a 1-0 victory over the Royals. 

The next day, after robbing a home run in right field in the top of the first inning, Judge decimated his 40th home run of the year.

Judge's 40th homer soared 449 feet into the bleachers in left-center field, a 110.2-mph moonshot on a 2-0 changeup from Kansas City's Kris Bubic. Nobody else in baseball is remotely close to Judge as he continues to swing his way toward the single-season record of 61 home runs in the American League (set by Yankees great Roger Maris in 1961).

As of Friday night, only one other player in the big leagues has eclipsed the 30-homer mark (Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has 32 big flies this season).

With 40 home runs in New York's first 101 games of the season, Judge is now on pace for 64 homers this year.

Let's not forget about Judge's gem in the field either, one of the best catches we've seen in the Majors this year. The right fielder tracked down a missile off the bat of Royals catcher MJ Melendez just four pitches into the game, leaping at the right-field wall to make the grab.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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