Once again, Aaron Judge achieved something unmatched in modern baseball, creating what might be his most iconic Yankee playoff moment this past Tuesday night.
Judge’s game-tying three-run homer was pivotal in the Yankees’ 9-6 rally against the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the ALDS. This marked the first instance in 2025 where a player hit a home run off a pitch exceeding 99 mph and out of the strike zone with an 0-2 count. According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal during the sixth inning, this was the first occurrence in 528 regular and postseason pitches this year.
The 99.7 mph fastball from Louis Varland, which Judge sent off the left-field foul pole, was the quickest pitch outside the zone hit for a home run since data recording began in 2008. This pitch stands as the fastest Judge has hit over the fence and the most inwardly positioned (at 1.2 feet from the center) that he’s ever launched out of the park, as per Statcast figures provided by CBS.
“He does things mere mortals don’t,” Fox announcer Joe Davis said during the sixth inning.
Judge is undeniably extraordinary, and it’s no exaggeration to suggest he might be the only player in the league capable of hitting a home run off that kind of pitch.
In the fourth inning, with two on and one out and the Blue Jays ahead 6-3, Varland gained a quick advantage, 0-2, after Judge fouled off a knuckle curve and missed a 100 mph fastball down the middle.
Varland went back to ol’ No. 1 and attempted to jam Judge high and inside.
Nonetheless, Judge harnessed his immense strength to connect with the pitch, sending it deep to left field and bouncing it off the foul pole for a game-tying three-run homer.
“I felt like I made good contact, and I thought we had a chance,” said Judge, who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a walk. “You just never know with the wind, if it’s going to push it foul, going keep curving or not. But I guess a couple ghosts out there helped kind of keep that fair.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider tipped his cap.
“Give him credit, man, that was a ridiculous swing,” he said.
That homer breathed new life into the stadium and the Yankees tacked on two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to force a Game 4 on Wednesday night in The Bronx.
Yankees fans have been clamoring for years for Judge to have his postseason moment in the same way Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has dominated this series for the Blue Jays.
With one “How did he do that?” swing on a ball not designed to be a home run, Judge changed the narrative after his costly Game 1 strikeout that helped swing the contest in the Blue Jays’ favor.
“I get yelled at for swinging at them out of the zone, but now I’m getting praised for it. It’s a game,” Judge said. “You’ve got to go out there and play. I don’t care what the numbers say or where something was at, I’m just up there trying to put a good swing on a good pitch, and it looked good to me.”
