On verge of 300 home runs, Aaron Judge is being treated like Barry Bonds — for good reason

The thought crossed the mind of Los Angeles Angels reliever Hans Crouse in the moments after the 92.3 mph fastball exited his hand last week and the subsequent 104.6 mph drive soared off the bat of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. “And just the player, and the hitter, that he’s become.” During this past homestand, Judge took 12 walks, six intentional. Crouse described Judge’s plate coverage as “insane.” “He’s just so big,” added Angels pitcher Davis Daniel. Judge relished in seeing a teammate make an opponent pay for avoiding him, because “it’s always a little sweeter when you can come through in those spots,” he said. “If that happens, I’ve got to do what happened today — in order for it not to happen.” Two innings later, Judge took his final at-bat of the weekend against Rangers reliever Andrew Chafin.