CHICAGO — When Aaron Judge returned to the dugout after his first-inning homer, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone yelled “Yogi!” in the direction of his star slugger.
Yogi indeed.
Judge moved into a tie with Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra for fifth in franchise history when hitting his 358th career homer during Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
“Not getting [the win] kind of stings,” Judge said, “but you know, get a chance to tie one of the greatest if not the greatest Yankee in homers is, it’s pretty special. The way Yogi played the game, what he meant to these pinstripes, you knew how much it meant being a New York Yankee to him. I feel the same way.
“I’m honored to wear this jersey, so it’s pretty cool to be on that list with him.”
Judge drove an 0-2 cutter from Martin Perez deep to center for a one-out solo shot. Judge’s 43rd homer of the season had a 112.6 mph exit velocity and traveled 426 feet.
He made a bid for another homer in the third, but his drive went off the wall in center for a double. He also singled in the fifth and popped out for the final out of the seventh.
Batting with a runner aboard and one out in the ninth, he flied to center.
“Just missed the last one,” Boone said. “I thought he made the right move on the pitch. Looked like he got a hanger there that I thought he put a great swing on. He got under it a little bit and hit it straight up in the air. So those things happen.”
Judge, 33, also connected for a solo homer in New York’s 11-inning victory at Chicago on Saturday night. The two-time American League MVP and seven-time All-Star batted .241 (20-for-83) with 6 homers, 12 RBIs and a .417 on-base percentage in 24 games in August.
Next up for Judge and the Yankees is four consecutive series against playoff contenders, beginning with the opener of a three-game set at Houston on Tuesday night.
“That’s what we want,” said Judge, who signed a $360 million, nine-year contract with New York in December 2022. “It’s coming down to the wire. We want to play the best teams and especially getting down the stretch here into the postseason, this is what it’s all about.”
Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (659 homers), Mickey Mantle (536), Lou Gehrig (493) and Joe DiMaggio (361) are on top of the Yankees’ career home runs list. Judge’s drive produced the first change in the franchise’s top five since Mantle hit his 203rd career homer Aug. 7, 1957, snapping a tie with Bill Dickey.
Judge was selected by New York in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft and made his debut with the Yankees in 2016. Berra was 90 when he died in 2015.
“Didn’t get to see him too much. He was definitely around over at big league camp,” Judge said. “But he was a special individual. A lot of the veteran guys talk highly of him. It was probably some of their favorite memories, you know, coming to spring training was having a chance to talk with him during camp, just hear some of his stories.”
Judge was activated from the 10-day injured list Aug. 5 after being sidelined by a flexor strain in his right elbow. He has been serving as the team’s designated hitter, but he could return to the outfield at some point this season.