On November 21 Aaron Judge was named the 2024 AL MVP. This is the second MVP of his career, with the first coming in 2022.
Judge has set the expectations so high it can feel like a disappointment if he doesn’t hit 60 home runs. However, even with “just” 58 home runs Judge proved himself to be the most valuable player in the AL by a comfortable margin.
Aaron Judge in April and May
Despite Aaron Judge finishing with dominant numbers all around, his season didn’t start well. Judge finished the month of April with just a .220 batting average. He showed improvement as the month went on, but the poor stats through one month were still a worry. His main weakness through one month was that he was consistently behind on fastballs. It seemed like Judge’s issues were mechanical, meaning most people in the Yankees circle knew he’d get it going eventually.
In May, Aaron Judge quickly reminded everyone why he’s considered one of the best players in baseball. He finished the month with a .361 batting average and 14 home runs. These stats earned Judge the AL player of the month award for May. Fun fact, Judge has won this award in May for three straight seasons.
Photo via Sports Illustrated
Aaron Judge in the Summer
Aaron Judge got back into form in May, but the summer months would be when Judge truly heated up. From June 1 to August 30 Judge had a .375 batting average, 31 home runs, and 78 RBIs. 31 home runs and 78 RBIs would be good numbers for an entire season, but Judge managed those numbers in half the time.
At the end of June, Aaron Judge was announced as the lead vote-getter for the American League, meaning he got a guaranteed spot on the all-star roster. This was the sixth time Judge was named an all-star in his career.
On August 2, Aaron Judge would reach two key season milestones with his home run off Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays. First, he hit his 40th home run of the season. However, this home run also gave him his 100th RBI of the season. Reaching these statistical milestones with almost two months left to go in the season is truly hard to imagine. From here it became pretty clear Judge was on pace to claim another AL MVP.
Aaron Judge won AL player of the month in two of these three months. The one month he didn’t win, July was hard because of Judge’s lack of production. Judge had a .318 batting average and eight home runs in July. However, he was outclassed by MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, who had a .489 batting average with seven home runs.
Aaron Judge in September
September was an interesting month for Aaron Judge. A batting average of .277 with seven home runs is certainly a good stat line. However, this is Judge we’re talking about. Any time his stat line isn’t otherworldly it catches attention.
The month got off to a poor start for Aaron Judge. From September 1 to September 15 Judge had a .240 batting average with just two home runs. In the middle of this stretch, Judge was in a 16-game home run drought. This was the longest drought of his big league career. Luckily, on September 13 the drought would be broken. Judge finished two for four with a home run and four RBIs.
After ending the home run drought, Aaron Judge propelled himself to a strong finish to the season ending any lingering questions on who the MVP was. Judge had a home run in five straight games from September 21 to September 26. This is how the season went for Judge, every time you thought he was down and out he came back better than ever. Judge rested the final game of the season, between poor weather conditions and the Yankees’ seeding was already set there was no need to risk injury. This locked Judge in with 58 home runs on the season. Judge now owns two top-five Yankee seasons in total home runs.
Keep up with Respectmyregion.com for more sports news and updates
