Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin
AP Photo/John Munson

Tuesday marks the three-year anniversary of Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge’s first big league at-bats, both home runs for the New York Yankees.

Stepping up to the plate for the New York Yankees has to be intimidating for a rookie. For Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge, they looked like they were born for the moment. Three years ago, the two right-handed batters hit back-to-back home runs in their first big-league at-bats.

Although their careers started off in lockstep, Austin and Judge have taken divergent paths. Judge struggled during that 2016 season, but came back in 2017 and won the Rookie of the Year.

He led the American League with 52 home runs while also tallying 114 RBIs. Judge was in line to win the MVP if not for Jose Altuve’s ridiculous season with the Houston Astros.

Judge has yet to put up eye-popping numbers like 2017, but he’s struggled with injuries in each of the last two seasons. The towering right fielder is still one of, if not the most important player on the Yankees. They just need him healthy.

Austin, on the other hand, only played 20 games with the Yankees in 2017 and never truly locked down a roster spot in the Bronx. He was traded in 2018 to the Minnesota Twins.

He was traded to the San Francisco Giants in April, but he struggled during his short time with the NL squad. Austin is currently slashing .185/.279/.400 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs in 70 games with the Giants. San Francisco designated Austin for assignment on Aug. 2 and he’s signing a minor-league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.


NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.