David Ortiz gives high praise to Aaron Judge amid his MVP-caliber season: ‘He’s just special’
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Aaron Judge’s 2024 season has one Hall of Famer impressed.
The New York Yankees slugger is well on his way to his second MVP in three seasons, and he’s threatening his own AL home run record.
His 62-homer season in 2022 won him his first MVP Award, but he’s somehow outperforming that.
Entering Friday, he had a higher OPS (1.174) than that season (1.111) and was hitting 22 points higher than his .311 that year.
David Ortiz may have a Boston Red Sox logo on his plaque in Cooperstown, but even Big Papi can’t help but marvel at what the Yankees captain is doing.
“Man, that guy’s a beast,” Ortiz told Fox News Digital at Fanatics Fest Friday. “You’re talking about a guy who has all the tools. And he’s at another level body-wise. He’s just special.”
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On Wednesday, Judge hit his 300th career homer. He did it in 955 games, by far the quickest ever.
The previous record was held by Ralph Kiner, who did it in 1,087 games. It took Judge 132 fewer games, almost a full season, to accomplish it.
Judge leads the majors in home runs (43), RBIs (110), on-base percentage (.467), slugging percentage (.707), walks (102) and total bases (301). And his .333 average is the second-best mark in baseball, behind Bobby Witt Jr.’s .349.
It’s quite a turnaround for Judge. On May 2, he was hitting just .197, and Yankee fans were clamoring for him to be benched. Since May 3, he’s hitting .388 with a 1.352 OPS.
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