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USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Aaron Judge records amazing career history with 39th 2025 Yankees homer
New York Yankees superstar slugger Aaron Judge achieved some pretty cool history after hitting his 39th home run of the 2025 season on Saturday night against the hosting St. Louis Cardinals. With the Cards homer, Judge can now say he's hit a home run against all of the other 29 teams in the MLB. That's such a neat achievement for Judge, one of the greatest home-run hitters of his generation. It's not easy to hit that many home runs, but all 29 non-Yankees MLB teams can now say Judge has hit one against them. He's pretty good, folks. Pretty, pretty good. Judge will now seek his 40th homer on the 2025 season, continuing to add to his impressive career haul. Who leads the MLB in home runs this season? Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has 46 homers on the season so far.
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Yankees takeaways: Can Aaron Judge keep up ‘incredible' pace? Clubhouse vibes high
CLEVELAND — The most interesting perspective on the best hitter in baseball came from a pitcher. Carlos Rodón still hadn't changed out of his uniform as the New York Yankees' victory playlist blared around him. They had just beaten the Cleveland Guardians 5-1 on Wednesday, and Rodón had his best start of the year, giving up one unearned run over seven innings. Yet when the topic switched to Aaron Judge, Rodón went historical. Advertisement 'Right now, he's like Tony Gwynn,' Rodón said. 'Next week, he'll probably be like Hank Aaron.' All year, the Yankees will be ecstatic if Aaron Judge is simply Aaron Judge, especially with the pace he's on now. Judge went 2-for-4 with a triple and a walk to boost his batting average to an MLB-best .415 — 28 percentage points higher than his second-place teammate, Paul Goldschmidt (.383), and 59 percentage points higher than the closest non-Yankees hitter. St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan was hitting .356. Judge also leads the game in on-base percentage (.513), slugging percentage (.734) and OPS (1.247). And he's tied with the New York Mets' Pete Alonso with 26 RBIs. Going into Wednesday, Judge's 254 wRC+ was 34 percentage points higher than the next-highest hitter. The statistic measures runs created and adjusts to the league average (100). He was also tied for the third-most homers in baseball, with seven. 'He never ceases to amaze me with what he does up there,' manager Aaron Boone said. Judge started his afternoon with an RBI triple off the tall part of the wall in center field that, according to Statcast, would have been a home run in 28 of 30 ballparks. In his next at-bat, he singled to the left side for his sixth hit in six appearances at the plate. Then he drew a five-pitch walk. In his final two at-bats, he grounded into a double play and struck out. Judge slams an RBI Triple!!! He now leads the league in RBIs' this season with 26 — YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 23, 2025 His 21-game on-base streak is tied for the fifth longest in his career. Over that span, he has hit .148 with a 1.136 OPS. 'It's fun to watch,' Goldschmidt said. 'I've seen it from afar for a few years now. It's incredible. He's a great hitter, very smart.' Judge has been the main engine propelling the Yankees offense. Four of the Yankees' everyday players will go into Thursday with batting averages below .200: Cody Bellinger (.177), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (.165), Anthony Volpe (.198) and Austin Wells (.181). Advertisement The Yankees will need Judge to keep this up the best he can. The good news? Judge doesn't historically cool off at any point of the season. His career monthly OPS marks after April: May: 1.130 June: 1.016 July: .985 August: .980 September/October: 1.020 It's also been a marked turnaround for Judge in one aspect. Last April was one of the worst months of his illustrious career. He went into May hitting just .207. He doesn't know why he has hit better this April but said one of his goals is not to repeat last year's brief poor performance. 'Hitting them where they're not,' he said. 'Making contact. It's baseball. You're going to have that. You guys are going to be talking to me in June, where we have a tough month, and I'm going to tell you the same thing. It's just about trying to keep everything simple, not trying to do too much. I really don't have an answer for you right now. I just wanted to come in this year and have a better April than I did last year. So, just trying to keep that going.' It might be dicey to bet against that happening. 'I'm just surprised when he gets out,' Rodón said. 'How about that?' The Yankees' player of the game championship trophy was sticking out of Goldschmidt's travel bag. Players milled back and forth from the showers and dining room, hurrying to catch the bus to their private plane. They were heading into an off day at home after playing 13 games in 13 days. The music was upbeat but a mix of new and old: 'Give Me the Night' by George Benson, 'Gold Digger' by Kanye West, 'In Da Club' by 50 Cent. The Yankees avoided a three-game sweep in Cleveland. They finished their seven-game trip 4-3 and are 15-10 and sitting atop the American League East. Boone was happy with his team's performance through nearly a month of baseball. Advertisement 'Pretty good,' he said. 'I feel like there's still so much room for us to get better, though. There's still a few guys that we want to get on track, which is the nature of — especially early in the season. … You're going to have a few guys hot and a few guys scuffling. That's the nature of it. Want to get a few guys going. I feel like we have a chance to be a really good club here. We got out of the gates OK.' 'We do a lot of things well,' Goldschmidt said. 'Probably exactly where we were in spring training. We had a lot of confidence, but we know there's a long way to go.' Heading home with a win ✅#RepBX — New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 23, 2025 Rodón has been building to get to this point. Through his first four starts, he had a 5.48 ERA. But after Wednesday's win, he has given up just one unearned run over his last 13 innings. He also struck out eight, walked two and gave up four hits, including a double, in Wednesday's game. He got whiffs on four of the five kinds of pitches he threw, but was particularly satisfied with his changeup. 'Kind of opened up the slider late,' he said. 'Threw some decent sinkers for some contact, and like I said, defensively, the boys picked me up. They helped me get through seven (innings). … It builds confidence. I felt like I was right there. I just want to keep going. Just keep winning games and going as deep as I can.' Judge called Rodón 'incredible.' 'He did a fantastic job this afternoon, just attacking the zone, using all his pitches and keeping them off-balance,' he said. The Dón in 8K. Presented by @Delta — New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 23, 2025
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Which MLB players are using the new 'torpedo' bats? Yankees lead the way, but other stars have embraced unique bat shape
Which MLB players are using the new 'torpedo' bats? Yankees lead the way, but other stars have embraced unique bat shape The New York Yankees are already the talk of the 2025 MLB season. Following an offensive explosion — in which the team hit 15 home runs and scored 36 runs in just three games — questions emerged about the unusual bats used by some of the team's hitters. Torpedo bats are now all the rage across the league, but opinions on the bats are split. Some players are ready to experiment with the torpedo bats. Others are quick to call them a scourge. Fans — well, non-Yankees fans, at least — are furious about the development. Advertisement Those who are using torpedo bats, as you might have guessed, speak highly of them. That includes New York's Giancarlo Stanton, who defended the equipment, dispelling any assertions that his early injury this season was a result of using the bats last year. What differentiates a torpedo bat from a standard bat is the shape. A torpedo bat features a thicker sweet spot — or barrel — before thinning out near the top of the bat. The shape resembles a bowling pin. And while torpedo bats look different, they are legal under MLB rules. MIT physicist Aaron Leanhardt has been credited with creating the torpedo bats. Leanhardt previously served as a hitting analyst with the Yankees before he joined the Miami Marlins as a field coordinator in the offseason. The idea came about after the team studied Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe's swing data. Analysis showed Volpe was often making contact near the label of the bat, which is closer to the thin end of a standard bat. In an effort to help Volpe, the team had bats made that moved more of the wood closer to the label, so Volpe would make better, stronger contact on his swing, as Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay explained during Saturday's game. Advertisement Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave his insight into the torpedo bats over the weekend, saying the goal is to move wood around to where a player makes contact at higher rates. Volpe and a handful of his teammates are among the players using torpedo bats in 2025, but the Yankees aren't the only club experimenting with the bat shape. Below is a list of MLB players known to be using torpedo bats this season: Cody Bellinger, OF, New York Yankees - 1 HR Alec Bohm, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies - 0 HR Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays - 0 HR Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, New York Yankees - 3 HR Oneil Cruz, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates - 1 HR Elly De La Cruz, SS, Cincinnati Reds - 2 home runs Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, New York Yankees - 1 HR Nico Hoerner, 2B, Chicago Cubs - 0 HR Ryan Jeffers, C, Minnesota Twins - O HR Francisco Lindor, SS, New York Mets - 0 HR Adley Rutschman, C, Baltimore Orioles - 2 HR Davis Schneider, OF, Toronto Blue Jays - 0 HR Dansby Swanson, SS, Chicago Cubs - 2 HR Jose Trevino, C, Cincinnati Reds - 0 HR Anthony Volpe, SS, New York Yankees - 3 HR Austin Wells, C, New York Yankees - 2 HR De La Cruz used the bat for the first time in the Reds' 14-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday. He went 4-for-5 for two home runs and seven RBIs in the blowout win. De La Cruz said he used the bat for the first time just hours before the game. Advertisement "It feels good," he said, via NBC5's Charlie Clifford. "It feels really good." While the Yankees' usage was known, a number of players on other teams have used torpedo bats in 2025. Orioles catcher Adley Rutcshman is a confirmed torpedo bat user. Both Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider and Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers were photographed using torpedo bats during the first three games of the season. Rays young standout Junior Caminero also used a torpedo bat early this season. The Cubs were among the teams to tinker with torpedo bats last season, Bellinger revealed, and it appears that both Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner are among the Cubs hitters using the torpedo bats in 2025. Pictures also emerged of New York Mets star Francisco Lindor using the bat, though he is 0-for-13 to start the season. Francisco Lindor bats against the Houston Astros on Saturday at Daikin Park in Houston. () (Tim Warner via Getty Images) The list is unlikely to stop there. Schneider's teammate Ernie Clement already said he might experiment with using a torpedo bat during games. San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado seemed interested in getting a shipment of the bats sent to the Padres. Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins confirmed that he already ordered a shipment and is waiting for it to arrive. Cleveland Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas doesn't appear to be using a torpedo bat, though he said the bat he uses is similar. Advertisement Opinions are mixed on whether the torpedo bats are the reason for the Yankees' early season success. The five Yankees players who used torpedo bats against the Milwaukee Brewers performed extremely well, hitting a combined nine home runs in the first three games. Notably, Aaron Judge — who does not use a torpedo bat — also belted four home runs in those contests. Whether the Yankees' success was due to their bats or a combination of their small ballpark and the Brewers' poor pitching remains to be seen. But after New York's offensive explosion to open the season, you can expect to see torpedo bats making their way around all 30 clubhouses before long.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Which MLB players are using torpedo bats? Yankees lead the way, but other stars have embraced unique bat shape
Which MLB players are using torpedo bats? Yankees lead the way, but other stars have embraced unique bat shape The New York Yankees are already the talk of the 2025 MLB season. Following an offensive explosion — in which the team hit 15 home runs and scored 36 runs in just three games — questions emerged about the unusual bats used by many of the team's hitters. Torpedo bats are all the rage across the league, and opinions on the bats are split. Some players are ready to experiment with the torpedo bats. Others are quick to call them a scourge. Fans — well, non-Yankees fans, at least — are furious about the development. Advertisement Those who are using torpedo bats, as you might have guessed, speak highly of them. What differentiates a torpedo bat from a standard bat is the shape. A torpedo bat features a thicker sweet spot — or barrel — before thinning out near the top of the bat. The shape resembles a bowling pin. While torpedo bats look different, they are legal under MLB rules. MIT physicist Aaron Leanhardt has been credited for creating the torpedo bats. Leanhardt previously served as a hitting analyst with the Yankees before joining the Miami Marlins as a field coordinator in the offseason. The idea came about after the team studied Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe's swing data. Analysis showed Volpe was often making contact near the label of the bat, which is closer to the thin end of a standard bat. In an effort to help Volpe, the team had bats made that moved more of the wood closer to the label so Volpe would make better, stronger contact on his swing, as Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay explained during Saturday's game. Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave his insight into the torpedo bats, saying the goal is to move wood around to where a player makes contact at higher rates. Advertisement Volpe, and a handful of his teammates, are among the players using a torpedo bat in 2025, but the Yankees aren't the only club experimenting with the different bat shape. Below is a full list of the known players using torpedo bats this season: Adley Rutschman, C, Baltimore Orioles Dansby Swanson, SS, Chicago Cubs Nico Hoerner, 2B, Chicago Cubs Ryan Jeffers, C, Minnesota Twins Cody Bellinger, OF, New York Yankees Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, New York Yankees Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, New York Yankees Anthony Volpe, SS, New York Yankees Austin Wells, C, New York Yankees Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays Davis Schneider, OF, Toronto Blue Jays While the Yankees' usage were known, a number of players on other teams have used torpedo bats in 2025. Orioles catcher Adley Rutcshman is a confirmed torpedo bat user. Both Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider and Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers were photographed using torpedo bats during the first three games of the season. Rays young standout Junior Caminero also used a torpedo bat early this season. The Cubs were among the teams to tinker with torpedo bats last season, Bellinger revealed, and it appears both Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner are among the Cubs hitters using the torpedo bats in 2025. The list is unlikely to stop there. Schneider's teammate, Ernie Clement already said he might experiment with using a torpedo bat during games. San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado seemed interested in getting a shipment of the bats sent to the Padres. Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins confirmed he already ordered a shipment and was waiting for them to arrive. Advertisement Opinions are torn on whether the torpedo bats are the reason for the Yankees' early-season success. The five Yankees players who used torpedo bats against the Milwaukee Brewers performed extremely well, hitting a combined nine home runs over the first three games. Notably, Aaron Judge — who does not use a torpedo bat — belted four home runs over those contests. Whether the Yankees' success was due to their bats or a combination of their small ballpark and the Brewers' poor pitching remains to be seen. But MLB fans should have an answer soon. After New York's offensive explosion to open the season, you can expect to see torpedo bats making their way around all 30 clubhouses before long.
