Around the Empire: Yankees news - 6/8/22

NY Post | Jon Heyman: We’re about one-third of the way through the 2022 MLB season, and Aaron Judge is the biggest winner thus far after betting on himself. He leads the American League in a bunch of categories, including a 3.2 fWAR and leads baseball in home runs with 22. The jury is in: No. 99 deserves to be paid as MLB’s best position player.

MLB.com | Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru: It’s no secret that Gleyber Torres had a rough past couple of seasons with the Yankees. In 2022, however, he’s turned it around in a big way. The 25-year-old is hitting the ball a lot harder as well as barreling up many more pitches. He’s being aggressive and putting the ball in play at a higher clip. His resurgence is no fluke.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: It’s been a “tradition” since the end of the 2016 season and now we have an inside look at it. After each win, the Yankees hand out a championship belt to who the reigning champion deems was the player of the game. In a more recent story, Jose Trevino handed the belt to Aroldis Chapman, who struggled to close the game, but eventually did. “It’s really fun to be part of this team,” fellow starter Luis Severino said. “It’s so unique.”

FOX Sports | Jordan Shusterman: I’m sure many Yankees fans didn’t have high aspirations for 36-year-old Matt Carpenter when he joined the team a couple of weeks ago. To the pleasant surprise of the fanbase, Carp has been a productive bat for New York with four homers and a 262 wRC+ through eight games with the squad. Having a player like Carpenter on a team that already has the best record in baseball makes them that much better.