Could Yankees star make serious run at triple crown?

Aaron Judge had another huge game for the New York Yankees on Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the team’s 8-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The performance continued a monster season that is not only putting Judge in the driver’s seat for the American League MVP award, but also in the running for the triple crown.

After Sunday’s game, Judge raised his average to .316 for the season and gave him 31 home runs and 82 RBI. 

That average is second best in the American League, just one point behind Los Angeles Angels third baseman Luis Rengifo (.317), while Judge is leading the majors in home runs and RBI by a pretty substantial margin. 

The triple crown is an incredibly difficult accomplishment and has only been done four times since 1950. Mickey Mantle did it in 1956, Frank Robinson did it in 1966, Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967 and Miguel Cabrera did in 2012. 

Judge still has a long way to go before he gets there, but at the halfway point of the season, he has positioned himself well to make a serious run at it. Of course, he’ll need to stay healthy.

Along with the triple-crown stats, Judge is also leading the majors in total bases (213), slugging percentage (.708) and OPS 1.144. He is second in walks (61), on-base percentage (.436) and WAR (5.9). He is just one point behind teammate Juan Soto for the OBP lead (Soto is at .437) and just 0.2 behind Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson for the WAR lead (Henderson is at 6.1). 

Henderson is going to be Judge’s biggest competition for the MVP award, but if Judge ends up winning the triple crown, it is hard to imagine Henderson winning MVP.

The duo of Judge and Soto have helped propel the Yankees to the top of the American League standings and makes them one of the top contenders in the league.