It seems the Yankees captain is accumulating all the bad intentional walks for the Yankees in the 2024 MLB season. In Saturday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Aaron Judge belted a two-run homer in the first innings. After scoring the home run, he made his way to the elite list, matching Babe Ruth for most home runs in the first innings for the New York Yankees. Also, making yet another record, the Yankees captain smacked his 41st homer in Bronx Bomber colors. 

However, aside from achieving historical feats, the Yankees captain still needs to stay on the plate for the Yankees. A prime example is Saturday’s game when Jays manager John Schneider made Judge walk off with two outs and no player present at the base. Yet again, a similar tactic was played in Sunday’s game when Judge was intentionally made to walk in the fifth, seventh, and eighth innings. Still, despite Jay’s baseball game sense, Aaron clinched yet another astonishing baseball feat amid all the on-field chaos. 

Aaron Judge paves his way toward another MLB record

Aside from being the leading home run scorer in the MLB league, Judge has accumulated yet another surprising record. Playing against the Blue Jays, he became the first Yankee player to intentionally walk three times in a single game. Previously, Bernie Williams held the record on September 26, 1999. Also, the Yankees captain even joined Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez to become the only MLB player to intentionally walk three times in a game in the past three seasons. 

While Judge was on the plate, he failed to score in any of the three innings. The contributions from DJ LeMahieu and Juan Soto made the Bronx Bombers win 4-3 in Sunday’s game. Against the Jays, LeMahieu got a walk-off single, whereas Soto smashed a homer in the 7th inning to seal the game for the Pinstripes. Seeing Judge clinch the 25-year-old record, the 31-year-old Yankees hitter has been playing above par since May 2024. Having an OPS of 1.157, he trails behind Barry Bonds, who has a staggering OPS of 1.422 in a single MLB season. 

From the moment Aaron Judge belted homers in two games against the Blue Jays, Schneider might have had enough. He gave the Yankees captain intentional walkouts, making Judge etch his name on one more achievement. He tied with the legendary Babe Ruth for 16 first-inning homers and 41 home runs. While Judge kept making records, the Yankees manager Aaron Boone was impressed with his prime hitter’s walk-off at the Yankees stadium. 

Aaron Boone praised Aaron Judge for his on-field play against the Jays

Despite Aaron Judge scoring a couple of homers, the Bronx Bombers manager garnered his raw thoughts for the Yankees captain. Speaking with ESPN, Boone said, “We’re watching greatness. So you try not to take that for granted. Try to appreciate every now and then what we have.” Aside from Judge scoring homers, Boone was also impressed by the intentional walkouts. In 2024, none of the hitters besides Aaron walked empty bases. Previously, in the 2023 MLB season, it happened only three times, once when Judge walked off against the Seattle Mariners on May 31, 2023.

Also, with the intentional walk-off of empty bases, Aaron was compared to the “Barry Bonds Treatment.” In 1998, Bonds was made to walk with two outs against the Diamondbacks. Aside from Aaron Judge, it has been 50 years since a player has received an empty base walk in MLB. Earlier, the record was from 1972 when Rudy May intentionally walked Glenn Borgmann, intending to face pitcher Ray Corbin. 

The Yankees winning the series against the Toronto Blue Jays might have erased their sluggish previous month’s memories. Currently, the team sits at the second position of AL East and has an impressive PCT of .593. They are matching the record of 67-46 with the Orioles and are a few games behind to lead the MLB charts. If the Yankees could crack the embarrassing Judge’s intentional walk-offs, and with Juan Soto and Chisholm Jr looking in excellent form, they could be the hot favorites to grab the playoff berth for the 2024 MLB season.