The New York Yankees didn’t have the smoothest start to their 2023 season.
In fact, they even found themselves in last place in the AL East as recently as May 12.
A big portion of their bad stretch of play coincided with Aaron Judge’s hip injury that forced him to the 10-day injured list.
Yes, the Yankees had, and still have but to a lesser extent, all kinds of pitching depth issues.
However, what really hurt the momentum was having no offense.
There are lots of talented hitters in the Yankees lineup, but not having Judge for a week-and-a-half left an already damaged lineup in shambles.
When Judge returned, he did it with a bang.
He looked (and looks) healthier than ever, and has been carrying the Yanks’ lineup in recent games.
The team has won four straight and eight of their last 10, and Judge has been behind the resurgence as you would expect.
Aaron Judge’s last 8 games ♨️
.452 AVG (14-31 AB)
7 HR
8 BB
16 RBI
1.758 OPS pic.twitter.com/Xf4Xd68j40— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 22, 2023
The reigning AL MVP has hit seven homers in his last eight contests, with a .452 batting average.
Not top shabby, huh?
He has really picked up the pace and is now performing at the same power pace he established last year, when he broke the old American League single-season homer record with 62.
Over those eight games, Judge has accumulated 16 RBI.
That’s two per game, if you are keeping score at home.
He obviously won’t maintain that rate for the whole year, but it’s nice to see him healthy and producing after that signing a nine-year, $360 million contract.
He should be in for another incredible year.
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Aaron Judge Set A Unique Yankees Record With Home Run