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2022 MLB Player of the Year: Aaron Judge

Throughout the summer and fall of 1998, Aaron Boone had a front-row seat to history being made.

Boone was a rookie third baseman on the Reds that season. He was often on the opposing side as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased Roger Maris’ record of 61 home runs in a season. Boone started at third base the day McGwire hit home run No. 60 against the Reds. He was at the hot corner when Sosa hit Nos. 52 and 55 against Cincinnati.

Boone never forgot that season, and never dreamed he’d be so close to something like it again.

Twenty-four years later, as the Yankees manager watched Aaron Judge every day, he was.

“It’s been remarkable,” Boone said during a late-season series in Anaheim. “I was a young player in ’98 playing in the National League Central when Sammy and McGwire were doing their thing down the stretch. . . I got to see that kind of a circus and the excitement that went with that, how big that was at the time for baseball.

“I think what Aaron’s doing is certainly in line with that.”

Judge hit 62 home runs this season, breaking Maris’ American League record. He finished just shy of winning the Triple Crown and led the majors in runs, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, extra-base hits and total bases, all while taking over as the Yankees’ everyday center fielder. He did it all while propping up a Yankees team that slumped badly down the stretch and carried them to the American League East title.

For his historic season, Judge is the 2022 Baseball America Major League Player of the Year.

“For me this goes back to the team we got here,” Judge said. “We got a good group of guys in here who continue to show up every single day putting in the work. I’m just trying to do my part and be a part of this team and do anything I need to do to put ourselves in a good position going into the postseason.”

Judge’s season was remarkable in many ways. He became the first player to hit 60 home runs in a season since Sosa and Barry Bonds did it in 2001. He hit 16 more home runs than anyone else in MLB—the largest gap between the home run leader and runner-up since Jimmie Foxx in 1932.

He hit 51 home runs before September even began, in a season where Opening Day was delayed one week by a lockout, no less.

And when his team needed it most, he delivered again and again.

The Yankees stumbled through August and early September as injuries took a toll, going 10-21 in a miserable stretch. Their American League East lead of 15.5 games on July 8 shriveled to just 3.5 games by Sept. 9.

Facing the possibility of an epic collapse, Judge took over.

Judge hit .356/.515/.712 with 22 runs scored, seven homers and 12 RBIs in 22 games after the Yankees’ division lead reached its nadir, helping them pull away in the division title race. The rest of the Yankees hit just .254/.332/.433 in that time.

It was the type of showing, and the type of season, that left Judge’s teammates in awe.

“It’s an incredible season,” Yankees outfielder Andrew Benintendi said. “I mean, most people would be happy with what he has right now. . . in two seasons. It’s fun to watch.”

“He’s always been a special player, but he just put it all together,” infielder DJ LeMahieu added. “Just taking it to another level. Just so consistent, because consistency is what sets him apart.”

Judge, of course, showed greatness before. He set a then-rookie record with 52 home runs in 2017 and won unanimous AL Rookie of the Year honors. He’s been an all-star in four of his six full seasons and entered this year with the fifth-most home runs of any player since his rookie season.

But his performance this year was at another level, an all-time season few could have reasonably predicted.

“I think great players adapt and learn from their experiences (and) have great aptitude,” Boone said. “He has those things. He’s learned and grown as a hitter from his experiences. And you see him be able to apply them now. You’ll see his experience play a factor in the batter’s box more and more as his career unfolds.”

The value of those experiences became magnified as opponents increasingly stopped pitching to Judge at the end of the season, threatening to derail his pursuit of Maris’ record.

Thirteen of Judge’s 19 intentional walks came in the final two months of the season, as did 58 of his 111 walks overall. With LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and Matt Carpenter all dealing with injuries at various points and the remaining Yankees hitters often slumping, teams simply pitched around Judge and took their chances—often successfully—against lesser threats.

In a microcosm of his late-season reality, Judge entered an Aug. 29 road game against the Angels one home run away from 50 and saw only one pitch in the strike zone the entire game.

He made it count.

Reliever Ryan Tepera threw a 1-1 curveball over the plate, the first and only pitch in the zone Judge saw all night. Judge promptly launched it 434 feet onto the rockpile in center field to give him 50 homers on the year and pull the Yankees within a run.

It was just one of many similar moments late in the year when the stakes were highest. Despite seeing so few pitches to hit, Judge never slowed down.

“It actually makes it easier because I know I gotta lock it in from the very first pitch I see, because that might be the best pitch I see,” Judge said. “It’s fun. You like having that, I wouldn’t say pressure, but (those) expectations.

“That’s what it’s about, trying to lead your team and help them win. That could be on the first pitch or it could be the third pitch you see in the seventh, eighth inning. You never know.”

The end result was an offensive season for the ages. Add in the fact that Judge ably handled center field, stole a career-high 16 bases and deftly handled the intense media spotlight that came with being a Yankee pursuing Maris’ hallowed 61, and it was an all-around season among the best of all -time.

“Getting the chance to do this with the team we got, the guys surrounding me, the constant support from my family that has been with me through this whole thing, it’s been a great honor,” Judge said the night he hit No. 62 against the Rangers.

“Getting a chance to have my name next to someone as great as Roger Maris, Babe Ruth, those guys, it’s incredible.”

Aaron Judge Photo By Ron Jenkins Getty Images

Podcast: 2022 MLB Season Recap, Postseason Preview

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