NEW YORK – Aaron Judge can pack his bags for Atlanta. The Yankees’ captain is officially headed to the 2025 All-Star Game.
For the second straight year, Judge was the leading vote-getter in Phase 1 balloting for the Midsummer Classic, which will be held July 15 at Atlanta’s Truist Park. Judge received 4,012,983 votes, which earns him an automatic starting spot in the American League outfield.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani was the National League’s leading vote-getter, with 3,967,668 votes. Judge is the first player to repeat as the leading vote-getter since the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez in 2007-08.
Atlanta in July figures to bring the heat, almost as much as Judge’s stat line, but the slugger says he’s cool with playing under those conditions.
“I love it,” Judge said this week in Cincinnati. “You’re playing baseball. Cold, hot, doesn’t matter. You’re getting a chance to play a game. You’ve got to love it.”
This marks Judge’s seventh career All-Star selection (2017, ’18, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, ‘25), and it comes with the AL’s reigning Most Valuable Player on a mission to bring his team back to the October stage after the disappointment of falling in last year’s World Series.
One year after leading the Majors in home runs (58), RBIs (144), walks (133), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.701), OPS (1.159) and OPS+ (223), Judge has continued to be a force for opposing hurlers to reckon with.
“What I’ve been watching – he’s playing a different game than everyone else,” manager Aaron Boone said earlier this season. “He’s just better than everyone else. He’s going to go through a stretch where it’s 10 days, two weeks, where it’s a ton of homers. He’s getting his hits right now because he’s gotten so good at the craft and so good at knowing who he is as a hitter.
“The way I look at it, if you really execute perfectly against him, you’ve got a chance to get him out. But he doesn’t chase a lot, if at all, and if you miss a little bit you’re in trouble. It’s just been fun to watch how good he’s gotten at his craft, with his unique skill set, size, strength and power.”
Through play on Wednesday, Judge paced the Majors in all three triple-slash line categories (.361/.461/.719), OPS (1.180), hits (108), extra-base hits (49) and total bases (215), leading the AL with 70 runs scored. Judge’s 28 homers are second in the Majors to the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (32).
“He’s so good. He’s the best I’ve ever seen,” first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said earlier this month. “Regardless of if he’s got a bad game or two in a row, he’s going to be the same guy. He’s going to go out there and compete, and he’s always got a chance to leave the yard. And when he gets hot, watch out.
“ … He’s obviously physically very gifted, but mentally just as good to deal with the ups and downs. Every time he steps in the box, especially on the road, everyone's watching and yelling at him. To have that kind of spotlight on you, the way he handles it, it’s truly impressive.”