It was as if it was blowing on the flagpole behind the stands in left field.
There it was, a five-pitch explosion in the bottom of the seventh inning in the Bronx that was the ultimate display of the power and glory that had characterized the Yankees since Babe Ruth settled in New York 104 years ago.
Aaron Judge had already made history by hitting his 50th home run in the first inning, but Sunday’s game against dejected Colorado wasn’t quite the day at the beach that anyone had imagined. The Rockies barely managed to pull away, trailing 4-3, when Juan Soto came to bat with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning.
He hit reliever Jeff Criswell’s first pitch deep into the right field bleachers.
Judge followed him and hit the first pitch into the first row of the right outfield stands.
Next up was Giancarlo Stanton, who needed three throws to pick out a ball and hammer it into the Monument Park safety net.
“A hat trick,” manager Aaron Boone called it after the 10-3 victory that gave his division-leading team its 17th win in the last 26 games. “Juan gets it rolling, Judge does what he does and G leaves no room for doubt.”
Two-three-four in the order is the new three-four-five. I’m not sure there’s ever been a deadlier three-four-five in baseball history. When Ruth batted third and Lou Gehrig batted fourth for the Yankees in 1927, Bob Meusel batted fifth. When Roger Maris batted third and Mickey Mantle batted fourth in 1961, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and John Blanchard shared the fifth-hitting duties. When Joe DiMaggio batted third and Gehrig batted cleanup in 1936, Bill Dickey owned the five-hole.
Well, we’re talking Hall of Famers here. But in terms of wattage, power (and marquee power too), this feels unique.
When we talk about Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio and Mantle and Maris and Blanchard, we’re obviously talking about Yankees who won multiple World Series. When we talk about Soto, Judge and Stanton, the rings on their fingers add up to one — and Soto’s ring was won with the Nationals.
History is secondary to the win in the Bronx. History is secondary to the win for Judge, who is the first player since Ruth not suffering from performance-enhancing drugs to hit 50 home runs at least three times in his career. He is on pace to surpass the AL record of 62 he set two years ago.
“The main thing is we still have a game to play,” Judge said when asked about his ability to tune out the noise when he enters the box. “The most important and simple thing is you want to be out there to win the game. It doesn’t matter what you just did.”
“There’s just something special about hitting home base. Then you move on to the next one, you know? That helps me stay focused in a game.”
Judge has hit 47 home runs in his last 102 games. He has hit 150 home runs over the last three years, averaging one home run every 9.29 at-bats. Ruth hit 161 home runs from 1926 to 1928, averaging one home run every 9.76 at-bats.
The Yankees haven’t been as vulnerable behind Judge since Stanton returned in late July after a six-week absence. There is some insurance there. The dynamic changed when Gleyber Torres was moved to the first batting position. In fact, Torres, starting as the first batter for the ninth consecutive season, hit the Yankees’ fifth home run in the eighth inning, capping their winning streak.
But just as home runs were hit “too high” in the classic movie “Major League,” the Yankees have been believed to have hit “too many home runs” during many of their failed postseason runs since 2009. The question always remains whether the Yankees’ offense is diversified enough or whether better pitchers will stop this show of muscle.
Baseball has become a playoff sport, just like hockey and basketball. The Yankees have had their struggles in the postseason lately, as you may have noticed. That goes for Judge, too, who batted 1-for-16 in the ALCS loss to Houston two years ago and has a .211/.310/.462 batting average with 13 home runs and 66 Ks in 171 playoff at-bats.
No. 99 is the greatest show on earth, and no, I’m not talking about Wayne Gretzky. When only two people in history have accomplished a feat and the other is Babe Ruth, we can probably save the 1-for-16 list for another day.
On Sunday afternoon, Soto, Judge and Stanton exploded into the air in the Bronx, lighting up the sky.
“Once in a lifetime” is there to be savored.
