Yanks’ Judge views call up as success

On Aug. 14, Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge homered.

It may seem hard to believe now, but for both young Yankees, it was the second home run of their career.

Since then, Sanchez has hit 18 more, going deep at a record-setting clip, assuring himself a place in the middle of the Yankees lineup next season.

Judge homered just twice after that day before missing the last three weeks of the season with a strained oblique that landed him on the disabled list.

The most striking number on his resume these days is the 40 strikeouts he had in his final 83 plate appearances.

“The strikeouts are a concern,” manager Joe Girardi said before the Yankees beat the Orioles, 7-3, on Saturday. “To me, it’s about making more contact — because when he hits it, there’s a real good chance he’s gonna hit it hard. He’s gonna have misses that go out of the ballpark because he’s so big and strong. If he does that, I think he’s gonna have success at this level.”

But since he burst onto the scene with five hits in his first three games — including three extra-base hits — Judge has mostly floundered.

Though the 6-foot-7 right fielder has long intrigued scouts and fans alike with his size and ability to hit towering home runs, the Yankees need to see more consistency if he is going to contribute.

“That’s part of the game,” Judge said of his sky-high strikeout numbers.

The fact that he was able to get to the majors made it a successful season, according to the 24-year-old.

“This was probably my best year so far,” Judge said. “I’ll keep the same [offseason] routine as the past couple years. It got me here. The key is staying here.”

And there is no guarantee of that, with the team already saying he would have to compete for a job in the spring.

“I expect that,’’ Judge said. “Everybody’s got to earn their spot.”