Aaron Judge put on an absolute show Monday Night at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida.
The rookie claimed the crown with ease as he took down Miguel Sano, 11-10, in the championship round. The slugger hit his 11th home run with two minutes to spare as he sent a deep fly ball that landed in the upper deck over the center field wall.
As one of the front-runners heading into the Home Run Derby, Judge didn’t disappoint as he rallied for a thrilling 23-22 win over Justin Bour in the first round. Bour, wowed the hometown crowd as he put up what was the highest number of the night.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough against Judge who put up a spectacular performance and was also the only one to hit several balls 500 feet or more. The rookie even hit several balls that hit the rooftop.
The roof's the limit for @TheJudge44 … literally. @TMobile #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/xaF0A9VuDY
— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2017
Aaron Judge with the first 500-ft home run of the night #HomeRunDerby pic.twitter.com/cCEx9ji9yu
— Fan Insider (@FanInsider_) July 11, 2017
This #HomeRunDerby is ??? #MLB #MLBAllStarWeekend pic.twitter.com/PLX7OkilFD
— Fan Insider (@FanInsider_) July 11, 2017
Aaron Judge is your 2017 Home Run Derby Champion. #HomeRunDerby https://t.co/DBViIaIK3k
— Fan Insider (@FanInsider_) July 11, 2017
The 25-year-old made history as he became just the first rookie to win the award. The slugger, who leads the league with 30 home runs, already passed Joe DiMaggio for the most home runs ever by a rookie in Yankees history.
The former first-round pick by the Yankees was all smiles afterward as he told reporters he was just trying to soak it all in. He definitely did as players doused him with Gatorade and water after his championship-winning home run.
Twitter loved it too!
A final spray chart of Aaron Judge's home run derby performance pic.twitter.com/wcwyIsIMxc
— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) July 11, 2017
AARON JUDGE'S SWING. pic.twitter.com/DmUUuLJZSE
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 11, 2017
Aaron Judge leaves a present for the rest of the #HomeRunDerby contestants after his victory: pic.twitter.com/oSpkhiqtON
— NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) July 11, 2017