YANKEES' AARON JUDGE, PHILLIES' BRYCE HARPER MAKE MLB HISTORY
For the first time in Major League Baseball history, the National League and American League Players of the Month went back-to-back.
On Wednesday, MLB announced the monthly awards for June, and at the top, there were no changes.
New York Yankees superstar outfielder Aaron Judge took home the AL Player of the Month award for the second consecutive month, while Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper did the same in the NL.
While 11 players in the AL and 10 players in the NL have won back-to-back Players of the Month awards in MLB history, never have both leagues had back-to-back winners at the same time.
Judge is coming off a month of June where he was virtually unstoppable. The 2022 AL MVP slashed .409/.514/.864 with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.378. He had an unbelievable 277 wRC+ and an fWAR of 2.5. He also made Yankees franchise history, passing the great Babe Ruth for most home runs before July.
Read more: Aaron Judge Passes Babe Ruth For Yankees Record Amid Historic Season
As for Harper, he slashed .374/.452/.714 with seven home runs, 16 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.166. He also had a wRC+ of 221 and an fWAR of 1.9, despite only playing in 23 games due to injury.
Harper ended the month of June on the injured list due to a hamstring strain.
While Judge and Harper have taken home Player of the Month awards in consecutive months, they also won the All-Star fan vote and earned automatic selections as starters in the upcoming All-Star Game. Judge and Harper appear to be MVP favorites in their respective leagues right now, especially with both the Phillies and Yankees being among the top teams in MLB.
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Judge's hot May and June have already carried into July. On Tuesday, the Yankees slugger went 3-for-4 with yet another home run, his 32nd of the season. Judge is currently the MLB Triple Crown leader as he paces the league in batting average (.321), home runs (32), and runs batted in (83). He also leads the league in fWAR (6.1), ahead of Baltimore Orioles superstar shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who has an fWAR of 6.0. No one else in Major League Baseball has an fWAR above 5.0.
As for the rest of the monthly awards, Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won AL Pitcher of the Month, while Christopher Sánchez of the Phillies won it in the NL. Wyatt Langford of the Texas Rangers and Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres took home the AL and NL Rookie of the Month honors. And finally, Carlos Estévez of the Los Angeles Angels and Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals won the Reliever of the Month awards in the AL and NL, respectively.