Aaron Judge reached a historic milestone with his 500th career extra-base hit in the Yankees’ 9-7 victory over the Diamondbacks. Judge’s performance, along with contributions from teammates like Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm, set a Major League record for home runs through six games. Despite the historic achievements, Judge remains focused on the future and the team’s continued success.
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NEW YORK – Aaron Judge continues to etch his name in the annals of Yankees history with another remarkable milestone. On Thursday evening at Yankee Stadium, Judge achieved his 500th career extra-base hit with a three-run homer in the Yankees’ 9-7 victory over the Diamondbacks. This impressive feat places him in elite company within the franchise.
A Historic Achievement
Only Joe DiMaggio (853 games) and Lou Gehrig (874 games) reached the 500 extra-base hits milestone in fewer games than Judge, who accomplished this in his 999th career game. His teammates, including Jazz Chisholm Jr., expressed admiration for Judge’s consistent excellence.
“He just keeps on performing, man, showing us why he’s the MVP of this league and one of the best players to ever play this game,” said Chisholm. “We all just try to be like him. We all tell him every day, ‘Hey, we want to be you when we grow up.’”
A Dominant Performance
Judge finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a stolen base. He is the first player in Major League history to hit at least five homers with at least 15 RBIs in his team’s first six games of a season. Despite his historic performance, Judge remains focused on the future.
“You’ve got to keep moving forward,” Judge said. “I’ll look at it when I’m an old man coming to Old-Timers’ Day. I can look back and we can joke about it and laugh about it, but there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Teamwide Power Display
Judge was not alone in his power display. Trent Grisham and Chisholm also contributed with homers, helping the Yankees set a Major League record with 22 home runs through six games. The previous record was held by the 2019 Dodgers with 17.
With Judge (five homers), Anthony Volpe (four), and Chisholm (four), the Yankees are the first team in Major League history to have three players hit at least four homers through a season’s first six games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Manager’s Perspective
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who has seen Judge claim two of the American League’s past three Most Valuable Player Awards, acknowledged that Judge’s consistent excellence sometimes feels almost expected.
“I catch myself having these ridiculous conversations with him, just because he keeps setting the bar so darned high,” Boone said.
A Character Win
The victory was particularly significant as the Yankees had dropped the first two games of the series. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco earned his first win for the Yankees, limiting Arizona to three runs over 5⅓ innings. The team’s resilience was highlighted by Giancarlo Stanton’s pre-game speech emphasizing the importance of protecting their home turf.
“People are talking about Torpedo bats, people are talking about this and that,” Judge said. “You can’t get caught up in the distractions or what the media is saying. You’ve got to go out there and keep playing, so I think we all kind of locked it in.”
