#aaron-judge

#aaron-judge

The playoffs started this week, and you have questions. Who's the best team? Can I, a casual, start calling Aaron Judge a choker? Wait, they let a CANADIAN team take the one-seed in the AMERICAN League? Is that legal? And which team has the wettest guys on its roster, and why is it the Phillies? Those questions, and more, are the subject of the week's Distraction episode.

When Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge 's Uber pulled up around 1:30 on the last Saturday afternoon of August, Alcala's was packed for its annual Labor Day weekend sidewalk sale. There were about 100 customers outside and another 100 inside eating free tacos while perusing the merchandise. Judge unfolded a baby stroller, strapped in his infant daughter, Nora, then headed in with wife Samantha. Teammate Anthony Volpe and his girlfriend were there, too.

The New York Yankees' slugger joined exclusive history on Wednesday night against the Chicago White Sox, bashing home runs No. 50 and 51 in an 8-1 win in the Bronx. With it, Judge becomes just the fourth player in MLB history to post four separate seasons of 50-plus home runs and the first to do so without the help of steroids since Babe Ruth.

The Red Sox mounted an impressive comeback win in their game against the Guardians yesterday, but the mood was dampened by the fact that budding star Roman Anthony exited the game due to an oblique injury. After the game, Anthony spoke to reporters (including Tim Healey of the Boston Globe) and noted that this oblique injury is "definitely worse" than the day-to-day back injury he dealt with a few weeks ago. It's unclear what sort of timeline for return to action Anthony might be facing.

"The most important thing's trying to get a win, especially when you can finish off a series sweep right there, so not getting that kind of stings,"

CHICAGO - New York Yankees star Aaron Judge hit his 358th career homer in the first inning of Sunday's game against the White Sox, moving into a tie with Yogi Berra for fifth in franchise history. Judge drove an 0-2 cutter from Martín Pérez deep to center for a one-out solo drive. Judge's 43rd homer of the season had a 112.6 mph exit velocity and traveled 426 feet.

Since then, Ohtani has broken away from the pack in the NL as he's more fully resumed two-way duties. While other players like Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Pete Crow-Armstrong have put together excellent seasons of their own in the NL, it's hard to see that race as anything other than Ohtani's to lose headed into the final month of the season.

Aaron Judge has been hampered by a flexor strain in recent weeks. He first spent a minimum stint on the injured list to rest his ailing elbow, and since returning he's been limited to exclusively DH work. Earlier this week, some questions were raised about just what shape Judge will be able to get his throwing arm back into before the end of the year.

With his 25th Grand Slam singles title top of mind, Novak Djokovic took his talents to the baseball mound on Thursday. He threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium before the New York Yankees faced the Boston Red Sox. Djokovic wore a white sleeve on his right arm as he delivered the pitch to Yankees catcher Austin Wells. Djokovic's pitch reached homeplate, but hit the dirt just before Wells controlled it.

Derek Jeter pointed out that the Yankees make too many mistakes, stating, "You can't get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams." This critique followed a night where the Yankees struggled significantly on the field.