The 2022 season has been a true storybook season for Aaron Judge, beginning with contentious contract talks leading into an MVP-caliber, record campaign. There was plenty of pressure on the Yankees outfielder; he bet on himself financially and then became the pillar of an up-and-down offensive lineup that sputtered at times down the stretch after a red-hot start to the season.
However, his pursuit of Roger Maris’s American League single-season home run record—a mark that is incredibly special to the Yankees franchise—did not contribute to that pressure. After Judge hit the long-awaited 62nd home run on Tuesday night in Texas, he said that, while the milestone is “something pretty special,” it was still just another day at the ballpark.
“For me, it’s just another day,” Judge told Sports Illustrated last week, as the chase for home run No. 62 continued. “I was getting booed in April [in the Bronx] after turning down the deal. I had fans yelling at me, screaming at me, saying, ‘You should’ve taken the deal! What are you doing? Screw you!’ So this is just another day.”
That emphasis on routine was not just a way to manage the day-to-day stress of being the face of the Yankees during a season with World Series aspirations.
In previous years, Judge would reach out to his private hitting coach Richard Schenck when he felt off while swinging the bat. This season, the two met regularly every two weeks or so and prevented that kind of slump.
“The last couple [sessions] I have noticed an extreme confidence and peace,” Schenck told SI. “He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to do it. It’s just a matter of doing it.”
Behind Judge’s monstrous bat, the Yankees got off to a blistering start to the season and finished well ahead of the Blue Jays in the AL East despite a summer swoon. The team has a chance to win game No. 100 on Wednesday in the season finale against the Rangers. In the upcoming playoffs, winning baseball games will put far more pressure on Judge than the incredible attention paid to him over the last month has.
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