Yankees slugger Aaron Judge called Thursday’s 9-3 win over the Tigers a “surreal day” between meeting President Donald Trump before the game and commemorating the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Trump was in New York to honor the anniversary of the attacks and stopped by the Yankees clubhouse prior to the game, shaking hands with the players and even sharing a moment with Judge. The Yankee superstar said that he had never met a sitting president before Thursday, while noting the importance of the day and the need to come together.
“No matter your beliefs, I think just especially today, 9/11, the strength and resilience that New York City showed during one of the darkest hours, darkest times, it’s just an important day for all of us to come together, really,” Judge said. “It’s just kind of a surreal moment, surreal day, and for us to come out with a big win, especially the last two losses we had, it was just an all-around great day.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone described meeting President Trump as a “cool experience,” admitting it was a “little intimidating.”
“You’re a little nervous, but he’s great in that setting, real personable,” Boone said. “Took some pictures, shook hands, and then I walked him into the main area where the players were, and they got to greet him. It was, it was a really, really cool interaction.”
Video from inside the clubhouse showed the president addressing the players moments before they took the field. Trump told the Yankees players that the team would “make the [playoffs]” and that they would “go all the way.”
The president then proceeded to shake the hands of the players, sharing notable moments with ailing Yankee Anthony Volpe and Judge.
“You have that much muscle, you have to hit the ball perfect,” Trump joked to Judge. “You’re a fantastic player. … You’re an unbelievable player.”
Judge proceeded to hit a pair of home runs in the blowout win, including a crushing blast into the left field seats in the bottom of the first inning that gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.
His second home run of the game came in the third inning, when he hit his 361st career homer to tie Joe DiMaggio on the Yankees’ all-time home run list.
“I guess we’ve got to have him around more often if we’re going to go out there and score that many runs,” Judge joked about Trump’s presence.
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