Aaron Judge celebrates after a two-run HR against the Royals on Saturday, his 42nd of the season. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)AP

NEW YORK – Aaron Judge doesn’t want to hear your projections and math calculations. They bore him. Matching Judge’s home run pace to Roger Maris’ is MLB’s biggest story, but his day to day agenda is considerably more granular.

Forget history, is Judge’s suggestion. He’s too busy wondering what deal the Yankees can make before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Aren’t we all.

It’s going to be a tense three-day wait, but that’s nothing compared to the scrutiny that awaits Judge over the last 60 games. He blasted his 42nd home run in the Yankees’ 8-2 demolition of the Royals on Saturday, continuing a hot streak that’s breathtaking in both scope and skill.

The fact that Nestor Cortes wasn’t exaggerating when he said, “every night everyone expects a home run” tells you to what degree Judge rules a) opposing pitchers b) Hal Steinbrenner and c) the record books.

Oh, yes. Those numbers. Judge’s eyes go into a thousand-yard stare when reminded he’s on a pace to blow right past Maris’ franchise-record 61 HRs. At this rate Judge will finish with 67. And he wasn’t exactly charged up, either, to learn his 200th home run, reached in 671 games, was the second-fastest in the record books. Only Ryan Howard (658) got there quicker.

To these nerdy story lines, Judge says, “they’re just speculation. For now I want to keep my head down. At the end of the year we can talk about it.”

It’s obviously not that simple, not when the ghosts of Maris and Babe Ruth are slowly coming into focus. Judge has blasted 12 home runs in his last 14 games, the most in a 14-game span in franchise history. The surge has turned the pursuit of the Yankees’ legends into a daily conversation with Judge. It’s not just possible, it’s become an even-money bet.

Question is, will opposing pitchers continue to challenge Judge? It’s likely they’ll play it safe with sliders off the plate. If Judge won’t chase, a walk will become an acceptable substitute to another 400-foot blast over the wall.

That was the case on Saturday. In his first two at-bats, Judge singled sharply to left, fueling the Yankees’ two-run rally against Royals starter Jonathan Heasley. An inning later Judge crushed a two-run HR to right-center, widening the Bombers’ lead to 4-0. The rest of the day was just televised batting practice.

It was no coincidence that Judge was semi-intentionally walked in his subsequent at-bats in the fourth and sixth innings. And it’s no less significant that Judge calmly took those free passes, unlike the younger, less-disciplined version of himself.

Judge’s willingness to keep the line moving, as the saying goes, speaks to his maturity as well as his awareness of the Yankees’ depth.

“If Aaron gets pitched around, he has trust in his teammates,” said Aaron Boone. “He knows he has a serious lineup around him.”

Although the comparison is premature, it’s worth recalling Barry Bonds led the majors in walks 12 times and finished his career as the all-time leader in free passes (2554). Aside from his power – chemically enhanced or not – Bonds’ discipline is what made him so terrifying to pitchers.

He would wait forever for your mistake, then pounce. If he didn’t get a hittable strike in one at-bat, he’d apply that same patience two, three, four times a game. Judge has that gene. He led the majors in walks in 2017 at the age of 25. But the stakes are higher for him in 2022.

Judge is now the face of the franchise, playing for a long-term contract as well as a championship. It’s a heavy load. If he’s growing tired of the questions in July, imagine the fatigue by Labor Day.

Picture the post-game mob of cameras and mics with the playoffs approaching and Judge within 10 HRs of Maris and the Babe. It would drive anyone – veterans, journeymen, rookies, you and me – crazy. Judge, however, might be the exception. Boone says, “I can’t imagine a person better equipped to go through something like this.”

As for Part Two of this drama – what breaking the Yankees’ single-season HR record would mean for Judge’s bargaining power – it’s a mystery. The slugger has earned the right to ask Steinbrenner for a blank check, but that’s assuming he wants to remain a Yankee for the rest of his career.

Judge has spoken vaguely about the “memories” he’ll cherish if this is his last year in Pinstripes. Judge repeated that Thursday night after his ninth inning, walk-off home run against the Royals. On a scale of one-to-unhinged, the response in the ballpark was off the charts. Judge’s teammates were just as electrified, turning the clubhouse into a nightclub complete with flashing lights and booming trap music.

But there Judge was, talking about the future in an open-ended way. Curious – and unsettling if you’re a fan counting on the big man to pick the Yankees in the coming free agent sweepstakes.

Maybe Judge is trying to deliver a message to anyone trying to read the tarot cards: stuff them in a drawer, forget about the future while you (please) stop obsessing about Maris-Ruth history, too.

Live for today, Judge says. Carpe diem in cleats. It’s the only way to prepare for the craziness that’s coming.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Bob Klapisch may be reached at bklapisch@njadvancemedia.com.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.