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Aaron Judge and a display of transcendent stardom in the shadows of Hollywood - The Athletic

LOS ANGELES — The first thought Yankees manager Aaron Boone had when he saw his $360 million right fielder crash through the wall of Dodger Stadium’s visitors bullpen was, “Oh no.”

With the Yankees up 5-3 over the Dodgers in the bottom of the eighth inning and a runner on first base with no outs, J.D. Martinez smoked a 104.9 mph rocket headed toward the right-field wall that appeared troublesome off the bat. Aaron Judge sprinted to the wall and caught Martinez’s ball over his left shoulder and crashed headfirst into the bullpen, breaking the wall open.

Yankees outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera, who was in left field at the time, said Judge is “from another planet” when asked for his reaction to the play. It was Judge’s second otherworldly catch this week, with the other coming in Seattle when he robbed Teoscar Hernandez of a home run.

“He’s amazing, man,” Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole said. “I tell you what, there’s some great players in this series. No doubt. I mean, you know, a couple Hall of Famers on the other side as well. But he’s just on another level.”

Baseball is such a grueling grind of a sport because it’s played nearly every day. The day-to-day results can become forgotten so quickly because of the nature of the sport’s calendar. Boone said he tries to tell himself every now and then to appreciate what he’s watching when it comes to Judge’s ability. There are only a handful of transcendent players who play their sport in any given generation. Judge is one of those athletes in MLB.

“He’s just so solid all around,” Cole said. “Like, there’s not a weak part of his game. He can go make an outstanding play, and then he can go make the plays that he’s got to make every single day for being such a dynamic offensive hitter. And it’s just — gosh, what a blessing. What a blessing to have him on my team.”

When Judge made his unbelievable home run robbery earlier this week, he called the play “just another catch.” He significantly downplayed a catch that only a few can make mainly because the Yankees had a comfortable lead at that point, and even if the ball landed in the seats, they still would’ve had a lead. This catch Saturday had importance. If that ball gets past Judge, it’s likely Max Muncy, who was on first, scores. That would’ve given the Dodgers a 5-4 deficit with no outs and Martinez likely in scoring position.

Judge noted how he felt like the Dodgers were gaining momentum at that point of the game when he made the play. In the previous inning, Los Angeles scored two runs off of Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta. New York had just two base runners in its previous 14 plate appearances before the Martinez play, and, of course, both were Judge. He hit his American League-leading 19th home run of the season in the sixth inning, a solo shot that traveled a scorching 113.7 mph off his bat and he walked in the eighth inning.

But Judge’s catch running through a wall potentially saved the Yankees’ lead and ultimately led to a 6-3 win.

“I’m feeling good,” Judge said. “I think the fence got most of it. Thankfully, it was that part of the wall where it had some give. I think that saved me quite a bit. If it was a solid wall, it might be a different story.”

“I feel like Bo Jackson did that once,” Cole said. “Bo ran, like, just straight through the wall. Honestly, I feel like it probably softened the blow a little bit. … It’s still very concerning when such a great player has to go so hard into the wall. He’s got a lot of guts.”

Fearlessness is part of what makes Judge a transcendent player, and Boone said he doesn’t wish for him to tone down his all-out effort. When he injured his hip in April trying to steal third, Judge said he had no regrets about the play because he felt getting to third would have made Anthony Rizzo’s run-producing opportunity easier. With this catch Saturday, he shooed off Boone and the Yankees medical staff because he didn’t want to throw relief pitcher Michael King out of rhythm, he said. There’s never any questioning whether the Yankees captain puts his teammates above anything extraordinary he does himself.

“That’s who he is and how he plays,” Boone said. “We needed him to do that today. He’s smart. I think that’s one of the really good things over the past couple of years — he’s learned how to play through things. … That’s a game-on-the-line situation and he’s going to make that play.”

When Judge made his home run-saving catch earlier this week, Boone said his son texted him it was the greatest catch he had ever seen. Boone said his son hadn’t texted him about this one just yet but he expects a message. Judge couldn’t rank where this catch falls on his all-time plays list, but it’s certainly making the highlight reel video when his career is over.

“Right now, it’s just another catch,” Judge said with a smile. “We’ll see. We’ll check the replays and get back to you.”

Jake Bauers’ power

Jake Bauers was overshadowed because of Judge’s night, but the Yankees left fielder powered the offense by hitting two homers with four RBIs. Bauers was in a brutal 1-for-21 stretch earlier this week, but his overall numbers are encouraging since getting called up from Triple A.

He’s now up to an .889 OPS with five home runs. The Yankees have needed a left-handed-hitting outfielder, and Bauers just might end up being that player if he continues producing the way he has lately. The Athletic first mentioned the swing change Bauers has undergone since joining the Yankees organization. That fix is what Bauers credits for all of his success.

“Ever since I got traded here last year, it’s just kind of been a steady uptrend in terms of how I feel at the plate,” Bauers said. “I really owe it all to the Yankees, the Yankees’ hitting philosophy and the coaches here.

“I had nothing to lose. I was hitting a buck-30 in Triple A. Feeling like I might have been at the end of my career. I didn’t know if I would ever be back in the big leagues. So when I got traded over and they said, ‘Hey, this is what we do here,’ I said, ‘Whatever you guys want me to do is what I’m gonna do.’ All credit goes to them.”

Bauers said he felt like things didn’t fully click for him until the end of spring training this year. In the last few days, he said he’s felt like some of the balls he’s hit have felt different off his bat. Cole noted how Bauers has made an adjustment to hit high-velocity fastballs better than when he initially got called up. Bauers’ second home run was a 96 mph fastball that he hit 409 feet over the wall.

With left field still unsettled for the Yankees, Bauers has shown his bat is good enough to get more opportunities.

Oswaldo Cabrera’s whirlwind

Oswaldo Cabrera flew out of Newark Airport at 8:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning to return to the Yankees after the team placed Greg Allen on the 10-day injured list with a right hip flexor strain. On Friday, Cabrera was in Lehigh Valley with Triple-A Scranton after getting demoted due to his lack of production.

At 1:30 a.m. ET, the Yankees phoned him and said he was rejoining the team in Los Angeles. At 5 a.m., Cabrera was awake and packing for a cross-country flight. Initially, the Yankees said he would be on the taxi squad as they determined the severity of Allen’s injury, but Cabrera didn’t care. He was happy to be back.

“Nobody wants to be back in Triple A, in the minors,” Cabrera said. “It was not easy, but at the same time, I know I wasn’t helping (what) we wanted for the team. For that reason, I said, ‘OK, I want to be down there to try and find myself again and come back stronger.'”

Cabrera hit a ninth-inning solo shot, giving the Yankees a 6-3 lead. Cabrera said one of the things he’s realized is the need to have fun playing the game. Cabrera noted how he felt like he was pressing for results he wasn’t getting and it bothered him. On the plane ride to Triple A, he told himself how he needed to rediscover his joy. He hopes his home run is the start of being the player he knows he can be.

“It’s not easy when you don’t have the successful moments that you want,” Cabrera said. “It’s not easy to have fun, but at the same time, I tried. I was enjoying each moment and being grateful all of the time that I was on the field because not too many people are in this spot I am right now.”

(Photo of Aaron Judge crashing through the outfield fence: Harry How / Getty Images)

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