They don’t call them the Bronx Bombers for nothing.
The New York Yankees eclipsed a record that stood for 20 years when they clubbed 267 home runs as a team last season, topping the Seattle Mariners’ mark (264) set in 1997.
But Aaron Judge thinks that was just a preview for more long balls to come in 2019, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
“You get this whole team healthy, we’re going to crush the record that we set last year,” Judge said Sunday. “We have a good team, a lot of guys that can make a lot of solid contact. When they make contact, it goes. We’re a team that’s primed and ready to do that.”
The Yanks had six players club at least 20 homers last season and had 12 players hit at least 10.
But it’s not hard to imagine the Yankees having even more pop this season, considering Judge, who missed significant time with a wrist injury last season, hit just 27 home runs in 112 games. Gary Sanchez, who blasted 33 bombs in 2017, only played 89 games in 2018 and had 18 home runs. So given a clean bill of health, it’s pretty easy to assume those two will put up bigger power numbers. And let’s not forget the powerful Giancarlo Stanton, who led the team with 38 homers last season.
There’s no doubting the potency of the Yanks’ lineup, especially considering Yankee Stadium is a bandbox. And it should make for another exciting summer watching two of the best offenses in the league go head to head when the Bombers take on the Boston Red Sox.
