Aaron Judge was in his element Monday night in Miami, and the New York Yankees outfielder didn’t disappoint.
The rookie has won the Home Run Derby after entering the All-Star break as the major league leader in round-trippers. Judge concluded his majestic performance by downing Twins infielder Miguel Sano (sah-NOH’) in the final, 11-10. Judge still had almost two minutes left on the clock when he hit his derby-clinching bomb.
He had the longest homer of the first round, crushing a 501-foot shot in a wild 23-22 win over Justin Bour (bohr). The Miami first baseman had just energized his home crowd before the 25-year-old Judge stepped up to take his hacks. Judge beat Bour with a blast during his 30-second bonus window.
Judge also was impressive in the semifinals against Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger, clubbing shots of 504 and 513 foot en route to a 13-12 win.
Judge is the fourth Yankee to win the Derby after Tino Martinez in 1997, Jason Giambi in 2002 and Robinson Cano (kuh-NOH’) in 2011.
Defending champion Giancarlo Stanton was knocked out in the opening round by Yankees slugger Gary Sanchez, 17-16. Stanton said he got about 2 .5 hours’ sleep following the Marlins’ game at San Francisco on Sunday.
Mike Moustakas was bounced in the quarterfinals. Moose finished one home run behind Sano 11-10, with his final swing resulting in a low line drive that fell just short of the right-field wall. The crowd let out a collective groan as the buzzer went off, indicating that Moustakas’ four minutes had expired.
