FACING THE JUDGE
Yankee Aaron Judge made an impression on the Lobos when he was at Fresno State
Aaron Judge was the toast of the baseball world Monday night, battering helpless baseballs into submission on his way to winning MLB’s 2017 Home Run Derby in Miami.
Judge had achieved star status well before Monday’s power display, putting together a phenomenal first half for the megamarket New York Yankees. The 25-year-old outfielder has even spawned a clever cheering section that plays wonderfully on television. His fans wear black robes, powdered wigs and hold up “All Rise” signs whenever Judge comes to the plate.
Media darlings don’t come much bigger than the 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge.
Few could have predicted the impact Judge has had in his first full big-league season. He recently broke the Yankees’ single-season record for home runs by a rookie. Judge has 30 at the All-Star Break — one more than Joe DiMaggio hit to set the franchise mark during the entire 1936 season.
No one saw it coming from 2011-13, when Judge was battling Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West foes as a member of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Judge, who blasted four balls more than 500 feet Monday, hit just 18 home runs total during his three-season college career, one in the state of New Mexico.
That doesn’t mean Judge wasn’t memorable. Home runs notwithstanding, he had several big days against the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State and made impressions with his speed, throwing arm and size along with his bat.
“The first time I saw him come out of the dugout I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, who is that?’ He was huge (then 6-5, 255 pounds), so
I figured he must be a pitcher. When I saw him hitting and taking balls in the outfield, I couldn’t believe it. I wondered if he was an avatar or something,” said UNM coach Ray Birmingham.
Former Lobo and current Albuquerque Isotopes pitcher Austin House had a similar reaction.
“Physically, he is not a guy you want to see walk up to the plate,” House said. “I remember thinking, ‘I can’t let this guy square one up. It could be bad.’ ”
Sam Wolff, another ex-Lobo who now pitches for the Triple-A Round Rock Express, was wowed before his first game against Judge ever started.
“I watched him take (batting practice) at Lobo Field, which is not a small yard,” Wolff said. “He was hitting balls out to center field like it was nothing. You couldn’t help being impressed.”
House, Wolff and the rest of UNM’s staff managed to prevent Judge from leaving the yard when it counted. He put up some big games against the Lobos, including a 4-for-4 outing with a triple and a double in Fresno, but failed to homer in his only collegiate series at Lobo Field in 2013.
“I remember striking him out on a breaking ball in the dirt,” Wolff said. “(Then UNM catcher) Mitch Garver and I talked about how to attack him and we got him that time. Don’t look up all his at-bats against me, though. I’m sure he probably won some battles, too.”
Judge won a few collegiate battles against New Mexico State during two seasons of WAC play. He homered in a 12-2 Bulldogs win over the Aggies at Presley Askew Field in 2012, and collected 10 hits (one of them a long ball) during a three-game series against the Aggies in Fresno in 2011.
Even when he wasn’t hitting homers, Judge managed to impress opponents.
“I remember him throwing a runner at out at third from right-center field,” Wolff said. “It was a frozen rope. Great arm.”
Birmingham recalls seeing Judge score from first base on a shallow, two-out pop fly single.
“He’s fast,” Birmingham said, “but that was pure effort. That stuff always impresses me.”
Birmingham was one of several former collegiate adversaries rooting for Judge on social media during Monday’s Home Run Derby.
“I’m sure the whole Mountain West was rooting for him,” Birmingham said. “Why wouldn’t we? He’s an alum and he’s the nicest kid ever.”
House agreed but said he usually takes a different perspective when watching Judge hit. The two squared off several times during Arizona Fall League play in 2014.
“I had really good success against him — knock on wood,” House said. “I watch him now, though, and his approach is a lot different. He crushes breaking balls to the opposite field. I don’t know what I’d throw if I faced him now.” House would be willing to find out. “If that happens, it means I’m in the big leagues and I’ll take my chances,” he said. “Just keep the ball low and hope he beats it into the ground.”