Aaron Judge continued to do Aaron Judge things on Saturday. He went three-for-four and capped his day off by hitting a two-run home run over the short porch in right field. It was his 35th home run of the season and the 350th of his illustrious career. He became the fastest player in MLB history to hit 350 home runs, doing so in just 1,088 career games. When asked to reflect on that achievement, Judge could only focus on the outcome of Saturday’s game as a whole. The New York Yankees lost the game 5-2 to the Chicago Cubs, and that’s what was most of what was on Judge’s mind.

“I got nothing, to be honest. It would’ve been great if we had gotten a win today to do something like that,” said Judge. “I’ve been surrounded by a lot of great teammates and on some good teams. They’ve really put me in the best position to go out there and perform my best, so it’s really just a shoutout to the teammates I’ve had over the years.”

All Judge seemed to care about postgame was that the Yankees lost this game. He didn’t appear to care a bit about his individual accomplishment. That’s what separates him from the rest.

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Aaron Judge shows why he’s the perfect Yankees captain

Even when he looked past Saturday’s loss, Judge went out of his way to praise his teammates for allowing him to get to the 350-home run plateau. He credited them for putting him in a position to thrive the way he has.

An ordinary player might’ve said how cool of an accomplishment that it is to get to 350 home runs, and not a single fan would’ve batted an eye. He’s just one home run shy of tying Alex Rodriguez for sixth on the Yankees’ all-time home run list – that’s cool! It’s hard to hit 350 home runs, especially in pinstripes. Ultimately, Judge is no ordinary player or leader. His team-first mentality is prevalent, especially in these postgame remarks, and this is why he’s a perfect captain.

The Yankees have had an absurd number of talented players. They’re 27-time World Series champions for a reason. It isn’t often, though, when the best players lead in the way Judge has. The leadership is why Yankees fans fell in love with Derek Jeter even beyond his Hall of Fame play. Judge happens to be a step above Jeter as a player, and the same kind of leader as he was. He truly is the perfect captain.