Aaron Judge has surprise competition in American League home run race

Aaron Judge is supposed to own the American League home run race, even the MLB home run race. That is the natural order. He is the Yankees’ giant, the league’s premier power bat, and the guy everyone expects to be sitting on top of the board when summer ends.  Except Munetaka Murakami apparently missed the memo.

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Aaron Judge Still Leading the Charge

Judge is still where he belongs – near the top of the sport. He hit his 16th home run Sunday against Milwaukee, giving him the league lead again. But Murakami has made this a real race, not a novelty act. The White Sox rookie slugger entered the weekend tied with Judge for the Major League lead after blasting his 15th homer, and the way he got there matters almost as much as the number.

Conclusion

Murakami’s Historic Rookie Power Surge

Murakami homered in his eighth straight series opener, which is a Major League record. That is absurd. Not fun rookie trivia absurd – actual record-book absurd. He also tied Judge with that shot before Judge nudged back ahead, and he has been doing it in a White Sox lineup that does not exactly give pitchers nightmares from top to bottom.