And you thought Aaron Judge just carried a big stick.
The New York Yankees right fielder is one of the most feared sluggers in the game — he proved as much Monday night with a three-run blast against the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series — but Judge also can hold his own on defense.
Case in point: In the fourth inning of Monday’s contest at Yankee Stadium, Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel launched a fly ball to deep right field. It looked like it might be extra bases — until Judge sprinted back to make an incredible leaping catch while slamming into the outfield wall.
We’re gonna need to see that again.
Judge needed every bit of his 6-foot-7, 280-pound frame to hold onto the ball while barreling shoulder-first into the wall — which displayed a fitting advertisement.
The AL Most Valuable Player candidate wasn’t done there, though. After drilling his clutch home run in the bottom of the fourth, Judge followed up with another defensive gem in the fifth inning, laying out to catch a sinking Cameron Maybin liner.
Judge had been enduring a brutal postseason at the plate entering Monday night, but he proved his immense value in Game 3, an 8-1 Yankees rout that cut Houston’s series lead to 2-1 and gave the Bronx Bombers life entering Tuesday’s Game 4.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
