Yankees' Aaron Judge talks possibly hitting 62 home runs again

Could New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge tie or even break the American League single-season record of 62 home runs that he set last year? 

"We’ll see," Judge said about the subject while smiling on Monday, as shared by John Healy of Audacy. "I don’t like putting a number on it. I just like going out there trying to control what I can control, but you never know what could happen. So, we’ll see about 62." 

Judge famously rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offer from the Yankees before Opening Day 2022 and went on to become the reigning AL Most Valuable Player. The 30-year-old explored free agency but ultimately returned to the Bronx Bombers via a nine-year, $360 million deal and the opportunity to serve as the 16th captain in the history of the Yankees.

According to ESPN, Judge led all of MLB for the 2022 season with a 1.111 OPS. He and Pete Alonso of the New York Mets finished tied for first with 131 RBI on the campaign, but Judge's 175 strikeouts were good for the seventh-most in the league in that category. 

Per Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, Judge admitted that "contact rate is something I want to improve on" as he approaches his 31st birthday which he'll celebrate on April 26. 

"I’ve talked to other big leaguers around the game that I admire their swing," Judge explained. "I was like, 'Hey, let’s go out to dinner. Let’s hit in the cage. Let me pick your brain a little bit about what you do in the box.' There’s just some guys I’ve talked to that have some really good two-strike approaches and I might be mixing that in there from time to time."

Meanwhile, SNY's Ben Krimmel mentioned that Yankees manager Aaron Boone made it known he's not worried about Judge experiencing any supposed MVP "hangover." Boone added he'll "strategically pick a day" here and there for when to sit Judge this year after the four-time All-Star selection played in 157 regular-season games and through the AL Championship Series in 2022.