Yankees' Aaron Judge praises 'ghosts out there in Monument Park' for season-saving home run
'I get yelled at for swinging at them out of the zone, but now I'm getting praised for it,' Judge says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aaron Judge's season-saving home run on Tuesday night was no ordinary long ball.
The likely soon-to-be three-time MVP tied the game with a three-run blast after turning on a 99.7-mph pitch over a foot inside that doinked off the foul pole. It was the first time a pitch that fast, and that inside, had ever been hit for a home run since pitch tracking began in 2008. It was also the first time Judge ever hit a home run on a pitch over 99.5 mph.
Normally, when a ball that far inside is pulled in the air, it results in a foul ball. But not this one, and Judge may have some Yankees legends to thank.
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New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a three-run home run in the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
"You just never know with the wind if it's going to push it foul and keep curving or not," Judge said. "But I guess a couple ghosts out there in Monument Park helped kind of keep that fair."
Judge also cracked a joke, with a touch of shade to the critics, about swinging at a pitch out of the zone.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I get yelled at for swinging at them out of the zone, but now I'm getting praised for it," he said.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees celebrates hitting a three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning in Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7, 2025 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
2 FIELD INVADERS CAUSE STIR DURING YANKEES' ALDS GAME 3 WIN OVER BLUE JAYS
The three-run jack completed the Yankees' comeback after they had trailed 6-1, forcing Carlos Rodon to exit the game before the third inning ended. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added a solo shot in the fifth, and the Yanks tacked on two more while the shaky bullpen stood on its head to record 22 outs without allowing a run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Yankees entered the contest a loss away from elimination in the best-of-five American League Division Series against their AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays. For a while, it sure looked like the Blue Jays were going to coast to a sweep.
Instead, the two foes will be back in the Bronx on Wednesday night at 7:08 p.m. ET on FS1.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) hits an RBI double in the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during Game 3 of the ALDS on Oct. 7, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Six days after spinning eight scoreless frames against the Boston Red Sox, rookie sensation Cam Schlittler will go for the Yankees, while the Blue Jays will go with a bullpen game started by Louis Varland — the same pitcher who allowed that fateful home run to Judge.
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