Aaron Judge steals an Astros homer with phenomenal Game 7 catch

Mike Oz

Aaron Judge isn’t limited to helping the New York Yankees with the longball, as he proved Saturday night in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series when he made a phenomenal home-run stealing catch in the second inning.

Judge, all 6-feet-7 of him, crashed into the wall and robbed what would have been a solo homer off the bat of Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel. In a Game 7, every run counts even more than it normally would, and this one helped the Yankees avoid an early hole. But it didn’t help them win. The Astros would prevail 4-0 and advance to the World Series.

New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge catches a long fly ball hit by Houston Astros’ Yuli Gurriel during the second inning of Game 7 of baseball’s American League Championship Series Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge catches a long fly ball hit by Houston Astros’ Yuli Gurriel during the second inning of Game 7 of baseball’s American League Championship Series Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

This isn’t the first great grab Judge has made this series or this postseason. He had another wall-thumpin’ catch in Game 3 of this series, which probably wouldn’t have been a homer but it did steal extra bases from the Astros. In Game 3 of the ALDS, also stole a homer from the Indians.

Being a giant in the outfield certainly has its benefits.

Judge’s catch immediately spawned some debate among famous Game 7 catches. Ex-MLB pitcher Danny Graves tweeted that Judge’s catch is better than Endy Chavez’s famous catch from the 2006 NLCS Game 7 for the New York Mets

That seems like a prisoner-of-the-moment type take, but here’s the Chavez catch for comparison:

What do you think? Which was better?

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!