KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Aaron Judge only watched his latest prodigious homer long enough to make sure it was out of Kauffman Stadium.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone? He made sure to find the best possible vantage point to see it land.
That ended up being 469 feet away from the plate, right on top of the Royals Hall of Fame in left field. It was the third-longest homer in the majors this season, and the two-run shot propelled New York to a 10-2 win over Kansas City on Tuesday night.
“I made sure to jump up and get a good spot where I could really watch it,” Boone said afterward, flashing a smile. “I mean, I was under control. Poised. I was in a good spot to really watch it. That was evaporated.”
The home run off the Royals' Noah Cameron had an exit velocity of 117.9 mph, tying it for the third-hardest hit home run in the majors this season. The Angels' Mike Trout hit the longest homer so far, a 484-foot shot against the Giants on April 19, while his teammate Logan O'Hoppe hit one 470 against A's on May 27.
Judge hit one 468 feet against the Brewers on March 29, and 12 times in his career has a homer traveled at least 465.
“Just glad to get the two runs,” Judge said, when asked whether he took a moment to marvel at his latest long ball. “There's no time. It's on to the next. You do something, you enjoy it for a moment and then you're on to the next.”
That approach seems to be working well for the two-time MVP, who also had a bloop single in the sixth inning to mark his 50th game out of 65 in which he's reached base multiple times. The only other players in the modern era to accomplish that feat also were Yankees: Babe Ruth in 1923, ‘24 and ’27, and Lou Gehrig in 1936.
As for the homers, Judge has hit 24 of them this season. Half of those have given New York the lead in a game.
“I mean, he just keeps impressing. Being able to watch him every day is a treat,” said Max Fried, who allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings Tuesday night. “Then when you see him day in and day out and get to know him, it's not surprising at all.”
Judge wound up 2 for 5 against the Royals, keeping his average at a league-best .396 — 30 points higher than second-place Jacob Wilson of the A's. He also leads the league in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits and total bases.
“If he keeps ascending from here, I won't be surprised,” Boone said. "The most amazing part of it is I feel like he's just playing well. I don't feel like he's been on fire at any point. That's what is amazing about it. He's out there playing well. Getting his hits, doing his thing. But in a lot of ways, I'm honestly waiting for him to catch fire. That's when it gets really scary.
“He's playing in a different league,” Boone added with another smile. “He needs to get called up.”
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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hits a two-run home run in the first inning during a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.
Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.
Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:
— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”
— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.
—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.
Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”
— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”
— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.
People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
