TRIAL BY FIRE

Aaron Judge never lost focus in his historic Player of the Year season as he powered the Yankees back to the postseason

- KYLE GLASER

Through the summer and fall of 1998, Aaron Boone had a frontrow seat to history.

Boone was a rookie third baseman on the Reds that season. He was often on the opposing side as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs in a season. Boone started at third base the day McGwire hit home run No. 60 against the Reds. He was at the hot corner when Sosa hit Nos. 52 and 55.

Boone never forgot that season, and never dreamed he'd be so close to something like it again.

Twenty-four years later, as the Yankees manager watched Aaron Judge every day, he was.

"It's been remarkable," Boone said during a late-season series in Anaheim. "I was a young player in '98 playing in the National League Central when Sammy and McGwire were doing their thing down the stretch... I got to see that kind of a circus and the excitement that went with that, how big that was at the time for baseball.

"I think what Aaron's doing is certainly in line with that."

Judge hit a major league-high 62 home runs this season, breaking Maris' American League record. He hit .311 and drove in 131 runs, finishing just shy of winning the American League Triple Crown. The Twins' Luis Arraez hit.316 to take the AL batting title.

Judge led the majors in several categories, including runs (133), on-base percentage (425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111) and OPS+ (211). He did it all while taking over as the Yankees' center fielder and propping up a team that slumped badly down the stretch. He carried them to 99 wins and the AL East division title.

For his historic season, Judge is the 2022 Baseball America Major League Player of the Year.