Aaron Judge is simply on another level right now.
The 32-year-old slugger hit another homer in the New York Yankees' 6–0 shutout win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. It was his league-leading 48th dinger of the season, his 14th in 30 games since the All-Star break and his third bomb in the last 24 hours.
Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who watches Judge mash day in and day out in the heart of New York's lineup, summarized his absurd success with a one-liner to YES Network's Meredith Marakovits.
"He's playing a video game; all of us are out here grinding," Stanton said.
"He's playing a video game, all of us are out here grinding."
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 22, 2024
Giancarlo Stanton joins @M_Marakovits on the field to discuss the 6-0 win and series win! pic.twitter.com/uRihqSjuA4
Judge won the 2022 AL MVP award when he batted .311/.425/.686 with a career-high 62 homers and 131 RBIs. But he's on pace to do even more damage this season, hitting .334/.465/.726 with 48 long balls and 118 RBIs with over five weeks left to play in the regular season.
"I think it's a whole nother level compared to '22," Stanton said of Judge's prowess this season. "It's going to be an interesting last five weeks or so. I think he can do it again."
Judge's well-documented struggles in April—.207 batting average and .754 OPS in 31 games—feel like they were a decade ago. He's running away with the AL MVP award in these dog days of summer while keeping the Yankees afloat in their battle for the AL East.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Giancarlo Stanton Drops Perfect One-Liner to Describe Aaron Judge's Dominance.
