Yankees outfielder and Fresno State alumnus Aaron Judge made history by becoming the fastest player to reach 300 home runs, Aug. 14. Judge reached the career landmark in a staggering 132 less games than the previous record holder, hall-of-famer Ralph Kiner. 

Judge has been knocking out home runs at a meteoric rate, and he is on pace to break his own AL record of 62 home runs in a season. Interestingly enough, when he was drafted out of the valley by the Yankees in 2013, he was not known as a home run hitter.

Announcer Paul Loeffler, voice of the Fresno State Bulldogs, provided insight on what he saw in Judge as a prospect during his road to the show.

“He’s never gotten ahead of himself,” Loeffler said. “I think he’s known his whole life that he was athletically gifted, but he never took anything for granted, he always worked as hard as everybody else, and he received coaching well.”

Fast forward 11 years from when he was first drafted into the Yankees organization, and Judge has reached a superstar status that is matched by very few in the history of the game. His offensive technique combined with a superhuman-like frame has made him a nightmare for all pitchers.

Despite being removed from his roots for over a decade, Judge still faithfully represents where he came from. For the MLB’s “Players’ Weekend,”,- a time where players can tell their story through their equipment -, his hometown pride was in full effect. Judge donned cleats and bats that not only represented Fresno State but his high school in Linden, CA.

Judge’s skills are inspiring alone, but his mental acuity and faith-driven story make the kid from Linden’s journey even more special.

“His perspective and his mental game, I think, is more impressive than what he does physically,” Loeffler said. “He doesn’t just say the right things, he actually thinks that way, believes in that way, and acts that way.”

Fresno Christian infielder Lucas Adanalian shared his thoughts on the hitting clinic Judge has been putting on as of late.

“He’s the greatest unenhanced hitter of all time,” Adanalian said.

With the MLB postseason less than a month away, the Yankees are primed to contend for their 28th World Series championship with a valley legend leading the charge.

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