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Aaron Judge is still in the middle of what Aaron Boone called a “historic” season, having broken the 50-homer milestone for the second time in three years and the third time in his career.
But he also is in the midst of a 15-game homerless drought.
Not only is it Judge’s longest stretch without a homer this year, it matches the longest of his career.
“It’s just baseball,” Judge said before the Yankees’ 4-3, 11-inning win over the Royals in The Bronx, echoing the sentiments of his manager. “I’m feeling fine and the results will be there.”
Though Judge’s funk began after he slammed into the center field wall in Washington when he robbed Andres Chaparro of a homer, both Judge and Boone have said that Judge is healthy, with just the usual bumps and bruises that come with playing into September.
And Judge also has proven he’s able to snap out of these types of funks quickly — and unlike any other hitter in the game.
It was just this past April when questions arose around Judge’s lack of production over the course of the first month of the season.
In his first 27 games, Judge homered just four times and hit .178 with a .674 OPS through 123 plate appearances.
Then he slammed a home run on April 27 and again the next day to start a 102-game stretch during which he hit 47 homers and briefly put himself ahead of the pace he put up during his 2022 record-breaking season.
Judge hit .377 and had an OPS of 1.349 and all but sealed the AL MVP award.
The past two weeks, though, haven’t been kind to Judge or the Yankees.
He is now in an 11-for-54 rut with just three extra-base hits, all doubles, and a .594 OPS.
“It’s just hitting,” Boone said. “It’s another historic season he’s putting together. We saw in April and now the last couple weeks where he’s not dominating like his usual self. I’m confident he’ll get rolling.”
His march toward his AL-record of 62 homers that he set two years ago has come to a screeching halt and with just 16 games left in the regular season, Judge’s previous milestone seems safe.
More important for the Yankees and Judge at this point is getting him out of his current rut.
Even with his current struggles, Judge still figures to be the favorite to win another AL MVP, but Bobby Witt Jr. is making things interesting, as the shortstop keeps the Royals in the second wild-card spot.
“I don’t pay attention to that,’’ Judge said of the MVP race. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Entering Wednesday, Judge had a 9.5 WAR according to Baseball Reference, compared to Witt’s 9.1.
And Judge leads the majors in nearly all offensive categories — in addition to homers. No one has more RBIs, or a better OPS or on-base percentage.
The more significant number, as far as the Yankees are concerned, is that they’ve dropped eight of their past 14 games as they try to hold off the Orioles in the AL East.
