The Yankees' chase for their 28th title ramps up on Tuesday night when they begin their Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox, and two of their best players closed out the regular season by earning some hardware.
Outfielder Aaron Judge was named AL Player of the Month for September, while starter Max Fried was named Pitcher of the Month.
Judge capped off what will likely be his third AL MVP season with a blistering month of September. In 25 games, Judge led the majors with a 1.292 OPS, blasting 10 home runs with 17 RBI while walking 27 times.
Judge finished the season leading all major league players in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457), and slugging percentage (.688) while hitting 53 home runs with 114 RBI. He also became just the third player in major league history to win a batting title while hitting 50 home runs, joining Mickey Mantle (1956) and Jimmie Foxx (1938).
Fried, meanwhile, won all five of his September starts, pitching to a miniscule 1.89 ERA while striking out 35 hitters in 33.1 innings.
The lefty's first season in pinstripes couldn't have gone much better. Stepping into the role as the Yankees' ace following Gerrit Cole's Tommy John surgery, Fried pitched to a 2.86 ERA while leading the American League with 19 wins.
Fried will get the ball in Tuesday night's Game 1, facing fellow lefty Garrett Crochet.
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