TAMPA, Fla. _ Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner, fresh off their forearm-bashing, two-homer-apiece Sunday against the Tigers, saved some flexing for the clubhouse.
And when the 2018 Yankees were brought up, the team that smashed the Mariners' 21-year-old benchmark by swatting 267 home runs, both pretty much had this to say: Hold my Gatorade.
"Oh definitely," Judge said. "With this whole team healthy, we're going to crush the record that we set last year. We've got a good team, a lot of guys that can make a lot of solid contact, a lot of big boys who can make solid contact and make it go.
"We're a team that's primed and ready to do that."
Anytime a mountain of a player like the 6-foot-7, 280-pound Judge talks about crushing things, you tend to believe him. That size, in the batter's box, isn't for show. The Yankees hit six homers in Sunday's 7-1 smackdown of the Tigers at Steinbrenner Field, and Judge, as usual, was the one who left onlookers scratching their heads.
Judge spends most of his BP sessions smoking line drives to the opposite field, so it wasn't surprising that he put two over the wall in right. The second, however, took a route that few hitters are able to create by sheer strength. Judge drilled a solid 2-iron shot that had just enough carry to get above the head of Victor Reyes, who managed to stick his glove up just in time for the ball to carom off the leather into the seats.
"I was just trying to dunk the ball over the second baseman's head and I got my barrel on it," Judge said, smiling. "I'm really trying to save those for the season."
He needn't worry. As Aaron Boone said, "He can sneeze them out of there to right." Plus, it's not as if there's a finite amount of fireworks in Judge's massive frame, and as long as he's in the lineup, the ball is leaving the yard. If you recall, the Yankees pounded their way to the record last year despite Judge spending nearly two months on the injured list with a broken wrist, along with a lost season from Gary Sanchez, who played only 89 games because of various injuries.
Sanchez also went deep Sunday, in only his second start since offseason shoulder surgery. In 2017, Sanchez hit 33 homers, enough to help earn an All-Star berth and Silver Slugger, but last year supplied just 18 _ six fewer than Gleyber Torres and four more than Luke Voit, who appeared in 39 games. Grapefruit League or not, Sanchez going deep is a welcome sight for a team that loves the overkill of a catcher who can rake.
"Gary knows he can hit," Boone said. "But it's always nice to get some results out of the way."
The same goes for Gardner, the longest-tenured Yankee entering his 12th season, also coming off a personally disappointing year. Conventional wisdom suggests that Gardner, now 35, wore down in the second half, a perception he doesn't entirely agree with. But the Yankees, valuing his clubhouse leadership and Bronx pedigree, paid him $9.5 million to come back for this year.
So to see him going toe to toe with Judge in Sunday's longest-drive contest, followed by the trash-talking, was to witness the elements Gardner brings to the table. And when he was asked about the Yankees busting the 2018 homer mark, Gardner wasn't shy about making some of his own predictions.
"We're going to hit more this year," said Gardner, whose 12 home runs last season were nine fewer than his career high in '17. "I expect us to have a better offense and score more runs."
When the conversation turned to the Yankees' twin mashers, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, Gardner couldn't help but antagonize his outfield mates.
"I give both of them a hard time, telling them anybody can hit 50," Gardner said. "So we'll see. Those guys, whether it's 42 or 62, we all know what they're capable of."
With the Yankees so homer-happy Sunday, Judge was asked if 70 was a possibility for either him or Stanton.
"I'm trying to have a healthy, full season," Judge said. "We'll see where the numbers are at. I'll put my money on (Stanton) getting 70-something before me."
Told of Gardy's big talk, Judge laughed.
"After he hits two, man, he starts running his mouth," Judge said, laughing. "Anybody can pull the ball. Try going oppo."
The fun, and the flexing, have only just begun.
