“Everybody Is Watching History”: Yankees Hitting Coach James Rowson On Home Run King Aaron Judge

“Everybody Is Watching History”: Yankees Hitting Coach James Rowson On Home Run King Aaron Judge

Malik Wright is live at the ballpark in Arlington, Texas as the visiting Yankees prepare for the playoffs. He speaks with Yankees hitting coach James Rowson about:

•What makes Aaron Judge a great hitter

•Rowson’s relationship with Jazz Chisholm Jr. from their time with the Miami Marlins

•Stanton the NY Yankees World Series X factor

•He explains the hitting game his players do in BP

 

#HIGHFIVE (Week 21): Aaron Judge Joins the Elite Power Hitters Of All Time

#HIGHFIVE (Week 21): Aaron Judge Joins the Elite Power Hitters Of All Time

Aaron Judge put himself in rare company this week, joining Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Alex Rodriguez as the players in Major League history to have three 50 home runs seasons.

 


Judge is a standout among this group being one of the only to do so without having any steroid allegations.  For that, he earns the top spot on Week 21 of our #HighFive list.

 

1. Aaron Judge

 

 

This week was full of accomplishments for Judge as not only did he become the first MLBbro to hit 50 home runs in three different seasons, but he also reached 1,000 base hits. Judge has more homers today than he did at this same point of the season back in 2022 when he finished with an American League record 62 home runs in a season.

 

Sunday, he hit bro bombs 50 and 51, but the highlight of his week came on Monday in D.C. when he robbed a homer in center field and got the ball back to the infield in time to double off a speedy C.J. Abrams.

 

HOME BOI HIGHLIGHTS | Aaron Judge Becomes First MLBbro To Post Three 50+ Homer Seasons

 

Judge was awarded the American League Player of the Week award for his efforts.  He has a slashline of .318/.500/.909 with four homers, six RBI, seven walks and a stolen base over his last seven games.

 

2. Lawrence Butler “LawBoyz”

 

Lawrence Butler is on a heater, similar to the one he went on in July that saw him become one of the better hitters in baseball after making a slight adjustment to his stance.

 

He led off Wednesday’s game with a bro bomb and is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak.  Butler has three home runs in his last five games, giving him 16 on the season. Over the last seven games, Butler has a .303 average with a 1.095 OPS, seven RBI and two stolen bases.

 

Watch Out | The Lawrence Butler Storm Continues With Back-To-Back Bro Bomb Games

His A’s will travel to Arlington, Texas this weekend for the final time representing Oakland to take on the Rangers in a three-game series.

 

3. Jazz Chisholm Jr. “Bahamian Blur”

 

Jazz Chisholm returned to the Yankees lineup and immediately hopped on the bandwagon being carried by Aaron Judge; but he is doing his part to keep the Yankees going forward in their push for the American League East title.

 

Chisholm was the biggest name to move at the deadline and since arriving in New York, he has been a perfect fit to their puzzle. After being sent to the Injured List to deal with an elbow injury, he has come back without missing a beat at the plate. He is hitting .273 with two home runs and a .940 OPS over the last seven days. His 22 home runs and career-high 28 steals give Chisholm Jr. the first 20/20 season of his career.  

 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. Makes Special Friend At LLWS

 

It may be a longshot to reach the 30/30 mark, but the 2023 MLB The Show cover boy could use the short porch in Yankee Stadium to make it become a reality.

4. Will Benson


Will Benson takes the fourth spot on our #HighFive list after hitting a go-ahead three-run bomb in the bottom of the seventh against the Athletics.
For Benson, it was his first home run in a month and the 13th of his season.

 

Will Benson Gives Honest Take On His Inconsistency At The Plate

 

He went through a tough stretch for most of August that saw him only going 2-for-20 until August 21st, but he has improved since then, hitting .333 over the last seven days.

 

5. Bo Naylor

Bo Naylor is becoming one of the better defensive catchers in the Majors, but he showed out with his bat this week to help the Guardians salvage a game in what was a crucial series for the American League Central pennant. His 11th home run of the year ignited a late inning comeback for Cleveland, who is currently holding onto their A.L. Central lead by a thread.

 

“It has been a long stretch from the beginning of the season until now and there is still a long way to go,” said Naylor. “We are not stopping or letting any adversity get to our head.  Just keep competing and hope we end up on the right side of things.”

 

Josh & Bo Naylor Are Playing Their First Full MLB Season Together | MLBbros For Real

 

Aaron Judge Has The AL MVP On Smash, But Bobby Witt Jr. Shouldn’t Be Ignored

Aaron Judge Has The AL MVP On Smash, But Bobby Witt Jr. Shouldn’t Be Ignored

As the MLB postseason rapidly approaches, the good old days of World Series lore spread over decades is a possibility as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are again the class of baseball.

 

Both teams have the best players in their respective leagues in Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) and Aaron Judge (Yankees) with plenty of statistics to back it up.

 

Both are having historical seasons that supersede their superstar careers.

 

Judge, who broke the American League home run record with 62 in an MVP season, is on pace to break his own record while becoming an even more efficient hitter. He has dominated baseball at the plate at such a level that many are bypassing the “Steroid Era” and placing him next to the one and only Babe Ruth.

 

Shohei Ohtani, who is compared to Ruth based on his ability to pitch at a high level and hit for power, has put pitching on the shelf for this season. But that doesn’t mean his contributions haven’t been electric. Ohtani is on a short list of players who have accomplished hitting over 40 home runs (he stands at 41) and stealing more than 40 bases (40). The Dodgers superstar has an outside chance of being the only player to join the 50-50 club.

 

It was enough of a possibility that ESPN’s Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discussed whose accomplishments were greater on Pardon The Interruption…

 

 

Guess which player is a slam dunk for winning league MVP and who isn’t? Yes, our MLBbro Aaron Judge!

 

Bobby Witt Jr. Is A Legit AL MVP Candidate

 

While MLB should be ordering Aaron Judge’s name to be stenciled for the AL MVP trophy, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal believes Kansas City Royals shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr. should be considered. He based his opinions on these factors…

 

Witt Jr. leads all of baseball as of this writing with a .347 batting average. Aaron Judge has an average of .333.

 

Witt Jr. has made an impact on the basepaths with 27 compared to our MLBbro’s six. This puts him on pace for a back-to-back 30-30 season.

 

Finally, with the comparisons in the field, Rosenthal based on the analytics and advanced stats calls Witt Jr. the best defensive player in baseball and Judge one of the worst.

 

Well…film don’t lie, as they say.

 

 

MLBbro.com is biased towards Black and brown players because…that’s who the staff covers exclusively. But that does not matter in this case. Since April 27, 2024, the reigning AL Player of the Week is the first MLBbro to hit over 50 home runs in three seasons breaking a tie with MLBbro icons, Ken Griffey Jr. and the late Willie Mays…

 

 

His power combinations with teammates have been electric. He shares home runs in the same game this season with not one but two teammates in Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto with 12. But last weekend, the last ingredient to an MVP story is history that has been made. When all three hit back-to-back-to-back homers, it was the first time three former Home Run Derby champions had accomplished the feat!

 

 

The AL MVP chase is over. The only question is…Will Judge take the Triple Crown?