(AFP) – New York star Aaron Judge homered twice to tie Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio for fourth on the club’s all-time list on Thursday in a game attended by President Donald Trump on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Judge homered in each of his first two at-bats against the Detroit Tigers, collecting the 360th and 361st of his career.
Ahead of him on the storied franchise’s all-time homers list are Babe Ruth, who hit 659 of his 714 as a Yankee, along with Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493). A pre-game ceremony honored victims of the attacks as well as first responders. Trump, who received a mix of cheers and boos from the Yankee Stadium crowd, had visited the Yankees in the clubhouse before the game, telling them, “You’re gonna win.”
Trump is the first sitting president to attend a game at Yankee Stadium since game three of the 2001 World Series, when President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The White House had confirmed earlier this week that Trump would attend the game. After his appearance at the US Open tennis men’s final caused long waits for security, the Yankees opened the gates early and advised fans to be prepared for extra security measures.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the contest that he was looking forward to Trump’s attendance. “I’ve had the honor and fortune of (seeing) some presidents over the years, first pitches or whatever it may be, so the fact that he’s going to be here is something that I’m excited to be a part of,” Boone said.
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