“We’re Watching Greatness”: Aaron Judge Gets “Barry Bonds Treatment” After 41st Homer Strengthens His All-Time Great Status

After a few rough previous months for the Yankees, Aaron Judge is turning back time. In Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays, he smashed a two-run home run in the first innings at the Yankees stadium. This record climbed Judge to the elite list, tying with Babe Ruth for most homers in Pinstripes colors. Carving yet another record, he belted his 41st homer against the Toronto Blue Jays, drawing a comparison with the legendary Barry Bonds. Altogether, already having an impressive batting average of .321, Judge has been spectacular. 

The Yankees captain is having another MVP season, leading in home runs (41), RBI (103), OPS (1.154), and a WAR of 7.6. Further, extending his home run records, Aaron Judge has smashed 16-first innings homers in the 2024 season. Previously, only Alex Rodriguez hit 16 homers with Texas in 2001, followed by Mark McGwire, who smacked 17 homers in the first innings. Eventually praising Judge on his field-play, Yankees manager Aaron Boone shared his thoughts about the Bronx Bombers talented hitter.

Aaron Boone’s raw thoughts on Aaron Judge’s play against the Blue Jays

Scoring his 41st homer, and the Blue Jays are not ready to face him again in the second innings, Aaron Judge has already proved his dominance. Talking with ESPN and reflecting on Judge’s game, Aaron 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.” Indeed, with Judge smashing his 41st homer, Jay’s manager, John Schneider, deliberately made Judge walk with two outs and nobody present at the base. 

Also, in the 2024 season, none of the hitters intentionally walked with the bases. Last year, it happened only three times, once when Aaron Judge did it against the Mariners on May 31, 2023. With Judge walking off the bases, it was compared to the “Barry Bonds Treatment,” where Bonds walked the same with two outs after his 41st inning. Additionally, it has been 50 long years since any player received a base-empty intentional walk within the first two innings aside from Aaron Judge. 

A recent example would be from August 10, 1972, when Angels Rudy May walked Glenn Borgmann for facing the pitcher Ray Corbin. Further, with Aaron Judge’s 41st homer, the Yankees star has 298 career homers and might soon become the fastest player to belt 300 home runs. Previously, Ralph Kiner (1,087) held the fastest record for scoring 300 homers. Meanwhile, Judge played the 945th career game on Saturday, just two home runs shot from making history. On the contrary, while Judge made his batting look dreadful for the Jays, the Toronto manager, John Schneider, offered his take on Judge’s greatness. 

Blue Jays manager John Schneider delivered his stance on Judge

It was raining boos from the Yankees fans when Jays manager John Schneider decided to halt Judge’s run fest. Sharing his thoughts on the incident, John Schneider said, “I honestly didn’t feel like seeing him swing. He’s in a different category I think than anyone else in the league, where he can just flip the script of a game with one swing.” Judge smacked a 426-foot homer off a 102.5 mph bat speed that landed into the stands. Eventually, after Judge’s two-run homer, Schneider gave him the first base to face Austin Wells, who has been among the best catchers since June.

Also, seeing Aaron Judge’s past matches, teams have carefully chosen pitchers against him. In July, he was made to walk four times in two different games, whereas the latest match against the Mets on July 23 is a prime example. However, among the four walks, one was intentional, and the teams pitched around Aaron Judge in the other three. Hence, seeing Aaron Judge’s current form, most teams are dreadful about his hitting abilities. And, if the Yankees captain continues to be dominant, chances like this might come more than often for him.

Nevertheless, his staggering OPS of 1.154 after going 2-for-3 with a couple of walks on Saturday has placed him among the elite list of hitters. Previously, it was yet again Barry Bonds with an OPS of 1.422 in a non-shortened campaign season. Ultimately, with the World Series a few months away, if Judge can continue his dominant run and the Yankees win a few of their series, they could go all the way to seal the elusive playoff spot in the 2024 MLB season.