Aaron Judge Named AL Rookie Of The Month
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Aaron Judge is attracting a lot of attention these days, so it's not exactly surprising that on Wednesday he was named American League Rookie of the Month for April.
The Yankees slugger batted. 303 with 10 home runs, 20 RBIs and 23 runs scored for the month. He tied the rookie record for most home runs in April and also led the AL in homers.
"It's really a team award," Judge said. "I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing if my teammates didn't get on base."
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Judge hasn't shown any signs of slowing down in May. In Tuesday's 11-5 win over Toronto, he hit two more homers, giving him 12 on the season.
The 25-year-old drew a lofty comparison from manager Joe Girardi this week.
"He is a little bit like Derek (Jeter) for me," Girardi told reporters Monday. "He has a smile all the time. He loves to play the game. You always think he is going to do the right thing on the field and off the field. He has a presence about him. He plays the game to win all the time, and that is the most important thing. It is not about what you did that day.
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"I understand that is a big comparison, but I remember Derek when he was young. He grew into that leadership role, but that was Derek. Derek loved to have fun, loved to laugh and loved to play the game."
Judge is only the fourth Yankee to win Rookie of the Month. The others were Hideki Matsui (June 2003) Robinson Cano (September 2005) and Gary Sanchez (August 2016).
