TORONTO (AP) — Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees held a lively clubhouse party to cheer another AL East title. A celebration for home run history, that’s still on deck.
Judge walked four times and stayed at 60 homers, one shy of Roger Maris’ American League record, as the Yankees clinched the division by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Tuesday night.
“I’ll take four walks for a win every day,” said Judge, who scored twice.
The Yankees won their first division championship since 2019 and 20th overall, tied for second-most with the Dodgers behind Atlanta’s 21. New York (95-59) secured a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the Division Series.
“We knew this was coming, but it’s only step one,” Judge said.
The Yankees marked the clinching with loud, splashy fun in the visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre, with beer and sparkling wine flowing freely.
“This is a big moment,” Judge said as beer dripped off his backwards cap.
Manager Aaron Boone, who carried a glass of Prosecco to his postgame news conference, certainly agreed.
“We can say we’re the best team in the best division this year, and it wasn’t easy,” Boone said. “We took everyone’s punches. We had some low moments but tonight is to be celebrated. It’s not easy going through the American League East and surviving.”
Judge lined out in his first at-bat and then drew four straight walks in his seventh straight game without a home run. He has walked 11 times in 30 plate appearances since hitting homer No. 60 against Pittsburgh last week.
All five of Judge’s plate appearances went to full counts — he saw 33 pitches, 14 strikes. His longest drought without a home run this year was nine games in mid-August.
“It’s just awesome to see the discipline and the…