NEW YORK — Joe DiMaggio, you’re next.
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge tied DiMaggio for fourth on the franchise’s all-time home runs list at 361 with his second home run in a 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
Judge tied the Hall of Famer with a no-doubt shot to left-center field in the third inning off Tigers reliever Sawyer Gipson-Long, going 434 feet at 114.9 mph. In the first inning, he homered to center field off Tyler Holton. Judge has 46 home runs on the season.
It was more history for the 33-year-old Judge, who passed Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra for fifth on the franchise home run list Tuesday.
“Just two legends,” Judge said. “Greats in the game. Great all-time Yankees. Pretty cool being on a list with them. It’s even cooler getting a win.”
Judge finished 3-for-4, adding a sixth-inning single.
DiMaggio, a center fielder, won nine World Series titles with the Yankees. He made the All-Star team in all 13 seasons he played, and he won a trio of MVP awards. He retired at age 36 in 1951.
“Joe DiMaggio, in a lot of ways, transcended baseball,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So to be next to him on a list, as he’s going to be waiving as he’s going by, it’s impressive, and it’s been a privilege having a front row seat to that.”
That said, Judge is well behind Lou Gehrig’s 493 home runs that have him in third place.
Judge is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season, though he’ll have competition with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. He leads MLB in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. He’s fourth in home runs.
The home runs came as the Yankees paid tribute to the victims of 9/11, and with President Donald Trump in attendance. Trump met with the Yankees in the clubhouse before the game.
(Photo: Adam Hunger / Associated Press)