New York Yankees’ Ace wins Major Award

The writing was on the wall long before this weekend, even if New York Yankees skipper Aaron Judge was hitting only.204 when the calendar changed to May.

Judge has reigned over May like a rite of spring, winning the American League Player of the Month title each of the previous two Mays. He also received the AL Rookie of the Month award in May of 2017.

It came as little surprise that Judge was chosen AL Player of the Month for May on Monday, closing up a record month for the Yankees’ outfielder.

Judge led the majors in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (1.397), doubles, extra-base hits (26), total bases (89), and runs scored this month. His 26 extra-base hits for the month surpassed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig’s prior franchise record.

Aaron Judge surpasses Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig for the most May extra-base hits in @Yankees history! pic.twitter.com/lsOMVNNHDq

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 1, 2024

In addition, Judge was second in the MLB in hitting average and RBIs, and tied for second in walks. His 26 extra-base hits and 22 walks earned him a place in history among only four Hall of Famers, including the two Yankee greats.

Players with 25+ XBH and 22+ BB in a Calendar Month:

Aaron Judge (May 2024)
Ted Williams (June 1950)
Jimmie Foxx (July 1932)
Lou Gehrig (July 1927)
Babe Ruth (5 times)

— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) June 1, 2024

Joe DiMaggio’s 31 extra-base hits in July 1937 set an all-time record; only Lou Gehrig (29 in July 1930) had more than Judge in May 2024. Judge’s performance is made all the more astounding by the fact that the MLB as a whole is hitting only.239 and slugging.388 in May, both historically low percentages when compared to the high-offense 1930s and recent seasons.

• Four extra-base hits on May 15 at Minnesota, including three doubles and a homer, marking the second four extra-base hit game of his career

• Becoming the fourth Yankee with at least two games with four or more extra-base hits, joining DiMaggio (five games), Gehrig (five), and Ruth (two).

• Home runs in four straight games from May 22-25, tying the second-longest streak of his career behind a five-game streak during the 2020 season.

• His first multi-homer game of the season Friday in San Francisco, giving him 35 career multi-homer games — the most by any big league player since his debut in 2016.

• Reaching base safely in 27 of 28 games, with hits in 22.

• Reaching base safely in 29 straight games since May 2, the third-longest on-base streak of his career.

Not to be outdone, Yankees pitcher Luis Gil was voted AL Pitcher of the Month in May. Over six starts, the right-hander was 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA (3 ER/38.2 IP), allowing 14 hits, 12 walks, 44 strikeouts, a 0.67 WHIP, an opponents’ batting average of.109, and 10.24 strikeouts per nine innings.

Gil, 26, led the Majors in wins, opponents’ average, and WHIP; was second in ERA in innings pitched; and third in strikeouts.