“He’s the clear-cut MVP” - Yankees skipper voices confidence in Aaron Judge, says “he’s playing like an all-time great”

Aaron Judge hit his 52nd home run of the season in an emphatic 8-4 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. The New York Yankees captain has led from the front all season and continues to dominate the batting metrics.

Aaron Judge is hitting at .330/.458/.687 with a 1.145 OPS. He has driven in 111 runs, walked 124 times and scored 135 runs. If he wins the batting title, he will become the third person in history, after Jamie Foxx and Mickey Mantle, to hit 50+ home runs and secure the league's best batting average.

Mickey Mantle had gone on to win the AL Triple Crown, which included the lead in RBIs and was also adjudged the MVP. In Judge's case, the RBIs and homers lead belongs to Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh. The two have been known to be close competitors for the AL MVP.

Judge's manager Aaron Boone made him a guaranteed winner for the MVP award in the post-game press conferences.

"Nothing Aaron Judge does surprises me; to me, he's the clear-cut MVP," Boone said. (4:00) "Batting title, feel like he's been on base seven times a day the last week. Whether they don't pitch to him, pitch to him, hitting it out of the ballpark.

"Made a really good play in right field to open the game, you see his athleticism out there. I don't put anything past 99. He's playing like an all-time great."

If Judge wins the American League MVP, it would be his third in four years. He won the 2022 MVP award after setting the American League record with 62 home runs in a season. Raleigh has hit 60 this year and has two games left to tie or eclipse that feat.

Aaron Boone dissects the reasons behind Aaron Judge's high batting average

Aaron Boone also assessed that Judge has been able to read pitchers' game play when they take the mound against him, which has led to him hitting at .330, significantly higher than his .293 career average.

"I think that's a big part for him because obviously, pitchers, unlike probably anyone in baseball, pitch really carefully to him," Boone said (4:45), "and are going to try and force him to get himself out, or otherwise, they're just going to keep it moving and put them on. So, he's become really good at controlling the strike zone and not leaving much."

Aaron Judge will also hold the distinction of being the tallest player to win a batting title. He is currently outpacing Athletics' Jacob Wilson by 13 points.