Inside The Pinstripes

Watch: Yankees Captain Aaron Judge Crushes First Home Run of Spring Training

It took until the final weekend of spring training, but New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge made sure he was not held without a home run as Opening Day approaches.

Kyle Morton

Mar 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) doubles against the Boston Red Sox in the fourth inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Mar 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) doubles against the Boston Red Sox in the fourth inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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Spring training has been filled with doom and gloom for the New York Yankees and their fans.

Bad injury news has ravaged the team, as ace Gerrit Cole will miss the entire year recovering from Tommy John surgery and slugging designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton's season is in jeopardy with injuries to both elbows.

But they have plenty of reason for optimism despite those absences, and the team has the potential to contend as long as Aaron Judge is healthy.

Judge has not looked like himself this spring, posting a slash line of .115/.281/.435 entering Saturday's contest against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Not that there was any real concern over his performance, but a collective sigh of relief could be heard in Tampa all the way from New York when he finally hit his first home run of the spring Saturday.

Judge stepped to the plate against Jesus Luzardo, a quality left-handed pitcher and the crown jewel of the Phillies' offseason, and he launched a 2-0 offering way out to left field.

According to Statcast data, Judge tattooed the ball at an exit velocity of 107.7 mph, and it traveled 381 feet on its way out of the ballpark.

The bomb was hopefully the first of many for the superstar in 2025, as the Yankee captain will look to build on his 58-homer, AL MVP-winning effort in 2024.

Judge helped power New York to the World Series a season ago, and he will look to do that again without Cole or Juan Soto, who departed to the New York Mets in free agency.

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Kyle Morton
KYLE MORTON

Kyle Morton has covered various sports from amateur to professional level athletics. A graduate of Fordham University, Kyle specializes in MLB and NHL coverage while having previous bylines with SB Nation, The Hockey Writers, HighSchoolOT, and Sports World News. He spent time working the beat for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and is an avid fan of the NHL, MLB, NFL and college basketball. Enjoys the outdoors and hiking in his free time away from sports.

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