Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees are off to one of the best starts in the American League, entering Monday at 23-11 and holding sole possession of first place in the AL East.
Judge has continued to operate as the best hitter in the league. Across 34 games, the 34-year-old right-handed slugger has posted a .264 batting average, .403 on-base percentage, 1.031 OPS and an MLB-best 13 home runs.
As New York prepares for Monday’s series finale with the Baltimore Orioles, Judge and the rest of the Yankees organization learned unfortunate news hours before first pitch. Longtime Yankees announcer John Sterling passed away on Monday at the age of 87.
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Sterling called Yankees games for 36 seasons, spanning from 1989-2024. Some of Judge’s most iconic moments were delivered through Sterling’s voice on the radio, including his first big-league home run and his AL single-season record-breaking 62nd homer in 2022.
Judge posted a message on Instagram mourning the death of the longtime voice of the Bronx Bombers. He shared a picture of himself with Sterling and added the caption, “Tough day in New York hearing this news. Thank you John for everything you gave baseball and Yankee fans around the world. The stories you told over the years and the moments you called will live on forever.”
Judge and the Yankees will look to honor Sterling throughout the season, hoping to deliver the kind of year he would have loved to call. With New York playing its best baseball in years, the team now carries an added sense of purpose as they push toward October in memory of a franchise legend.
