Aaron Judge’s value to Yankees is so much more than just homers

SEATTLE — This is a Yankees truth:

When Aaron Judge is going well, everything seems better around the team. The mood is brighter. There is more of a sense of ferocity to the lineup. Just a lot more smiles around the ballclub.

There is a special energy Judge brings, everything from the postgame music that plays in the clubhouse from the portable speaker that sits in front of his locker on getaway days to his byplay with teammates.

On Tuesday night at T-Mobile Park Judge became the third-fastest player in major league history to 100 home runs when he sent a first-inning missile to the batter’s eye in center field, a 462-foot shot, for a two-run smash off Yusei Kikuchi that set the pace for the Yankees’ 7–0 win over the Mariners.

The ball came in at 92 mph and left the park at 114.1 mph.

Only Ryan Howard (325 games) and Gary Sanchez (355 games) have gotten there faster than Judge’s march to 100 over his first 371 games. Kind of fitting Judge hit 100 home runs on the same night Pete Alonso set the Mets single season mark for home runs with 42.

“Just the start I guess,’’ Judge said with a smile of the 100 home run mark. “Quite an accomplishment. I’m humbled and honored by that, but you’ve got to keep moving forward.’’

To be in such a trio with Howard and Sanchez, Judge said, “It’s a special group. Ryan Howard has done some special things in the game. We’ve already seen what Gary Sanchez can do.’’

Sanchez and Judge now both sit at 100 home runs.

Brett Gardner, who hit a three-run blast in the third as Masahiro Tanaka pitched a gem, said this about Judge, and it speaks volumes.
“When he is locked in and is at his best,’’ Gardner said. “He’s the best player on the field, and I think we are seeing that the last week or so.’’

Judge has crushed five home runs over his last eight games. He entered the night hitting .351 with a 1.141 OPS over the past nine games and picked up two more hits. The previous 21 games Judge was hitting .148 with a .501 OPS. He is completely over the oblique injury that caused him to miss 54 games.

His parents have been on the entire trip, and he told The Post with a smile that he is thinking of bringing them back to New York after this trip winds up Wednesday.

“They are my good luck charm,’’ he said.

Judge also said of Sanchez, “Gary is our best hitter. That’s something I’ve said for a long time — even in the minor leagues.’’

Whether or not that is the case, Judge is the modern day straw that stirs the drink for these Yankees. He makes it all happen.

He makes them The Bronx Bombers, and the Yankees will need every bit of his energy and ability to have success in October.

“Guys look to him so much,’’ Aaron Boone said. “He is such a powerful presence. He is one of the voices of our team. Certainly, the face of our club and then throw on top of it one of the elite players in the game. So when he is going like he usually is, he is a real problem for the other team.’’

There are so many little interactions with Judge and his teammates. He waits for them to come off the field so he can offer a word of encouragement, a light-hearted comment or a pat on the back.

Teammates first is Judge’s motto.

He also became only the seventh Yankees player drafted and signed by the team to reach 100 home runs since the MLB draft came into existence in 1965. The other six are Gardner, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson and Mike Pagliarulo.

Like Jeter, Mattingly and Munson before him, Judge is the leader in the clubhouse that others look to on a daily basis.

The 100 home runs are the exclamation point, but for Aaron Judge there is much, much more to his pinstriped success.