The home run king is back. Attention is focusing on whether the ‘insignificant’ cannon competition will flare up again.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees will return on the 10th (Korean time) after recovering from an injury. He is scheduled to start in the home game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium at 8:05 a.m. on the same day.
Judge was replaced after taking two at-bats against the Texas Rangers on the 28th of last month. It was due to pain in his right hip. In the end, he left the team on the 10-day injured list (IL) the next day and digested rehabilitation training at a camp in Tampa, Florida.
In an interview with 먹튀검증 MLB.com on the 9th, Judge said, “I’m ready. I’m happy to be able to return to the team after finishing my injury. Recently, we lost a losing series to Tampa Bay, but our players fought hard and played a good game. I’m going,” he said, expressing his feelings ahead of his return.
The Yankees ended up in a losing series with 1 win and 2 losses in three consecutive away matches against the Tampa Bay Rays, the leader of the AL Eastern Division and the strongest team in the major leagues, on the 6th and 8th. Judge, who was at rehab camp in Tampa at the time, was referring to it.
Judge digested all the routines, including batting and defense training, ahead of the game against Oakland on the 9th, and announced that he was ready for the return match the next day.
Judge joked, “I think I trained more than I did when I was playing regular season games in the IL.”
Aaron Boone, manager of the Yankees, said, “MVP is back. It will be fun to write his name on the lineup. He shows his presence as our leader. Players look at that jersey. Of course, his return is an invisible force.”
The Yankees fell to last place in the Eastern Division with 3 wins and 6 losses in 9 games while Judge was not there. This is because the Yankees not only have Jersey, but also a large number of key hitters such as Giancarlo Stanton and Harrison Bader on the IL. Vader returned on the 3rd and is adding strength by raising a batting average of 0.389 and an OPS of 1.222. If Judge returns, the weight of the other line will inevitably double.
Judge had a batting average of 0.261 (24-for-92), 6 homers, 14 RBIs, 18 runs scored and an OPS of 0.863 in 26 games before the injury.
During the 10 days without a judge, not much has changed in the home run race. Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy leads with 12, while New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, Boston Red Sox’s Raphael Devers and Chicago Cubs’ Patrick Wisdom tie for second with 11 homers. Judge is 6 gaps away from Muncy, who leads the overall home run, and 5 gaps away from Devers, the AL leader. It’s a level you can catch up to. Los Angeles Angels’ biggest contender for the defending MVP jersey, Shohei Ohtani, also couldn’t get away with 7 homers.
On this day, MLB.com released the results of the first MVP mock vote this season. Of the 43 panel members including reporters, analysts, and editors, participated in the vote, Ohtani received the first place vote from 30 people in the AL, taking first place by an overwhelming margin. This means that Ohtani is still the biggest enemy for Judge in the MVP competition.
“My players are welcoming me back. I’m happy to be back. Now I never want to leave,” said Judge.
