NEW YORK -- Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Right into second place on the New York Yankees' all-time rookie home run list -- and it took Aaron Judge only 84 games to do it.
Judge hit a 432-foot moonshot in the fifth inning Friday for his 30th home run of the season, besting the previous high by a Yankee, set by DiMaggio in 1936. DiMaggio hit 29 homers in 138 games. Judge has another 78 games he can potentially play in.
"It is quite an honor," Judge said. "It has been a fun first half so far."
Judge, 25, also joins Mark McGwire as the only rookies in the game's history to have 30 or more homers before the All-Star break. McGwire had 33 in 1987 on his way to 49 for the Oakland Athletics.
Judge has two more games this weekend against the Brewers before the break. The Yankees have lost 17 of 23 games, including a 9-4 defeat to Milwaukee on Friday, making Judge a little uncomfortable talking about himself.
"I wish all 30 were game winners," Judge said.
Judge said baseball can humble a player quickly, and to remind himself of that fact, he keeps his .179 average from last year scribbled on his pregame notes.
On Monday, he will participate in the Home Run Derby. On Tuesday, he will start in right field for the American League All-Stars.
On the season, Judge is hitting .330 with a major league-leading 30 homers and 66 RBIs. His name is now atop DiMaggio's in the Yankees' record books.
"That's a pretty special name he passed," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It is really incredible what he has done in the first half of this season."
