Judge hoping to be record rook
Aaron Judge is inching closer toward history. He would prefer to focus, though, on the present.
The Yankees’ slugger, who crushed his 44th home run Monday, moved within five of Mark McGwire’s rookie record of 49 (set in 1987) with 11 games to go.
“It’d be pretty surreal, but that’s the last thing on my mind right now to be honest, especially with what we got going on here in the last couple games,” Judge told The Post before the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Twins on Tuesday night at the Stadium. “We’re fighting to win a division. Home run races, they come second nature to that.”
The 25-year-old outfielder has hit seven home runs over his last 15 games after hitting seven in his previous 46 games out of the All-Star break. He had roared onto the national stage by racking up 30 home runs in the first half and winning the Home Run Derby, but hit a mid- summer skid that he has since come out of.
“I was more of a Giants guy, so I watched Barry Bonds a lot when I was growing up,” the Bay Area native said. “But when I saw McGwire with the Cardinals, man that was impressive. What he did with the baseball, it’s crazy.”
Judge, whose 115 walks are a MLB rookie record, drove in a run Tuesday night and is two shy of 100. If he reaches that milestone Judge would be the eighth player in Yankees history to score 100 runs, have 100 RBIs and draw 100 walks. The others are Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Charlie Keller, Jason Giambi, Bernie Williams and George Selkirk.
Gehrig did it 11 times, Ruth 10, Mantle three and Keller twice.
Joe Espada was in his usual third-base coaching box Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium and posi- tioning infielders from the firstbase dugout against the Twins, but his mind also was on Puerto Rico, where his parents were preparing their Dorado home for Hurricane Maria, which is expected to reach the island early Wednesday.
“They are prepared for the storm, but they are worried. It’s a big storm,’’ Espada said. “They are more nervous about this one than [Irma]. It’s worrisome. It’s the flooding that is more worrisome. My parents are up in age and concerned, but they are surrounded by great neighbors. It’s a big storm, a Category 5, and we haven’t recovered from the previous one. There are still people with no power and no water. My parents’ house had power and water.’’
The Yankees have won 13 of 18 games and Jacoby Ellsbury has had a big hand in that. During those 18 games the center fielder started 15 of them and is hitting .404 (21for-52) after going 1-for-4 Tuesday night. In addition he is 5-for-5 in sto- len base attempts. On Aug. 30 Ellsbury was hitting .241 and is now .267.
“I think he has a lot to do with it, the way he has played the last month has been special,’’ said Joe Girardi, who batted Ellsbury seventh Tuesday. night. “This is how we envisioned Jacoby playing. He has been a big part of it and there have been a lot of other guys a part of it but he has been in the middle of a lot of rallies and (gotten) big hits.’’
Dellin Betances’ control problems Monday night came close to costing the Yankees a victory, but Girardi said he isn’t ready to remove the right-hander from late-game work.
“I still have a lot of confidence in Dellin,’’ said Girardi, who didn’t use Betances on Tuesday because he pitched Sunday and Monday. “A lot of times when you use a guy it is easy to determine and sometimes it’s not. ... I consider him a late-inning guy, we just have to get him right.’’