The Yankees hosted the 76th Old Timers’ Day at the stadium on Saturday afternoon and as part of the festivities they honored the 15th anniversary of the 2009 World Series championship team.
Many of the fan favorite legends were in attendance including the captain, Derek Jeter.
Following the festivities, Jeter took some time to speak with reporters on a number of different topics including being around the guys, the greatness of that team, and the incredible season Aaron Judge is putting together.
While talking about Judge’s torrid pace, Jeter unsurprisingly had the same thoughts as you, me, and more than likely everyone else around the sports world.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “It seems like he just continues to get better and better, and people fail to realize that he didn’t get out of the gates too well this year, now all of a sudden he’s having seasons like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Barry Bonds.
“I was here last year and we were talking about Aaron and I said he can be a better player, that doesn’t mean his numbers are going to get even better, but he managed to do both, it’s been fun to watch.”
It certainly has been fun, as Judge’s four-game home run streak which was snapped on Saturday gives him a league-leading 40 on the season putting him on pace to tie the AL single-season record he set two years ago.
He’s also hitting an incredible .415 with 15 homers, 33 RBI, and a 1.453 OPS over his last 30 games.
The former first-round pick has all but locked up his second-career American League MVP award, but what has stood out the most to Jeter is the way he’s carried himself off the field.
“He’s carried that legacy and tradition of Yankee superstar players,” Jeter said. “But more importantly he’s a great representative of this organization, I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and I’m a fan of his and what he’s been able to accomplish.”
Source Agencies
