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Aaron Judge plays catch with young Mariners fan at Safeco
Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge took some time to play catch with a young Mariners fan. Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge made the day of a young baseball fan by having a catch with him during Thursday’s 4-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.

The Yankees superstar slugger was warming up ahead of the bottom of the ninth when he spotted the young Mariners fan sporting a glove in the right field seats.

“I had some extra time and I saw a kid with a glove and threw him a few balls,’’ Judge said of the encounter, via the New York Post.

A great scene, to be sure.

However, the way Judge has taken Major League Baseball by storm this season obviously has been one of the biggest story lines of the summer.

And yet, Judge has been slumping at the plate in July, especially since winning the Home Run Derby at the 2017 MLB All-Star Game in Miami.

But Judge’s struggles preceded the All-Star break as well. Since hitting his 30th home run on July 7, Judge has posted a .152 average, going 5-for-33, with all hits being singles, while striking out 14 times. Judge also has knocked in only one run during the slide.

Judge did go 1-for-3 in Thursday’s win, with an RBI while adding a walk. Perhaps sitting out Wednesday’s loss to the Twins -- Judge did have a pinch-hit at-bat -- did him some good and he’ll start working his way out of the slump. 

Although it merits mentioning Judge is still slashing .312./.434/.642 with 30 home runs (tops in AL) and 68 RBI (second in AL) on the season despite the recent struggles. And he did recently reveal a novel method he uses to slow things down and refocus.

Either way, odds are the young Mariners fan couldn’t have cared less that Judge has been slumping at the plate of late when he saw the sizable outfielder pick him out of the crowd for a catch.

This article first appeared on Sportress of Blogitude and was syndicated with permission.

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