Judge's first spring HR gives Yanks 'a lot of adrenaline'

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Aaron Judge Show crisscrossed the country last summer, his 62 home runs thrilling audiences far and wide as the Yankees slugger embarked upon a memorable mission to break Roger Maris’ 61-year-old American League single-season record.

It won’t count toward his eventual 2023 tally, but as Judge lifted a deep fly ball in the second inning Monday night during the Yankees' 9-2 Spring Training victory over the Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field, one couldn’t help but ponder what the reigning AL Most Valuable Player plans for an encore.

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Judge connected for his first Grapefruit League homer of the spring, launching an opposite-field, three-run blast off the Pirates’ Colin Selby. The drive highlighted a six-run inning, with Jose Trevino and DJ LeMahieu also driving in runs.

“It’s normal to us, but it’s exciting to see him do that,” said Yankees starting pitcher Domingo Germán, who permitted a hit over three scoreless innings. “It’s exciting for the fans. There’s a lot of adrenaline when it happens. He signed a big contract and I know fans want to come out here and see things like that.”

Added manager Aaron Boone: “It was a good at-bat. We had a lot of good at-bats tonight, but it was good to see him hit one like he does over there to right.”

The 30-year-old Judge is entering the first season of a nine-year, $360 million deal, having been crowned as the 16th captain in franchise history in December at the official announcement of his contract.

Judge finished the evening 1-for-2, and is batting .500 (4-for-8) with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs in four exhibition games.

“I’ve got some goals written down, but my individual stats always take care of themselves,” Judge said earlier this spring. “I’m focused on the team when I’m out there. The game tells you what you need to do.

“If I’m going up there thinking about trying to hit a home run, or thinking about what my batting average is going to be, I’m probably going to walk away from that at-bat after three pitches. After everything that transpired last season, I try to still do what I did last year, which is take it one at-bat at a time and focus on helping the team win.”

Judge served as the designated hitter on Monday, and Boone said that he plans to have Judge play left field for the first time this spring on Wednesday against the Cardinals. Boone said that Judge is also scheduled to play left field on Thursday against the Red Sox.

Judge suggested the left-field experiment to Boone earlier this spring as an avenue for Giancarlo Stanton to log starts in right field once or twice a week, especially during home games.

“I just want him to have a couple of days being out there and a couple of games, just to get a handful of reps and balls off the bat,” Boone said. “Then we’ll take stock of where we’re at on that, and move on from there.”