Yankees fans made incredible gesture after star outfielder went out with gruesome injury

When it was reported that Gary Sanchez was back on the disabled list for the Yankees, it was mentioned that only three players — shortstop Didi Gregorius, designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, and right fielder Aaron Judge — had managed to stay healthy for more than 90 percent of the Yankees’ games.

Well, after Judge had his left wrist smashed by a fastball Thursday night against the Royals, that number is down to just two.

At Yankee Stadium, fans held a sort of candlelight vigil for Judge as they awaited news of his condition.

The trouble is, all sorts of fire codes would be violated with a crowd full of baseball fans equipped with candles or cigarette lighters, so another solution had to be found.

Enter the “cell phone light vigil.”

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https://twitter.com/BarstoolHubbs/status/1022657787669737473

As George Myers pointed out on Twitter, the vigil was all the more significant since Judge appears headed for the disabled list after his wrist injury.

@Yankees fans holding a candlelight vigil for @TheJudge44 during the game after it was announced that he would miss significant time due to a wrist injury sustained by HBP during his first at-bat. pic.twitter.com/gb6qR4RE9C

— George Myers (@gmyers87) July 27, 2018

On the bright side, although Judge fractured a bone in his wrist, it won’t need surgery. Best-case scenario, it’s a six-week recovery and he’s back in action by mid-September.

Worst-case, however, he’s done for the season.

And while the Yankees have already started to reload at the trade deadline, acquiring J.A. Happ from the Blue Jays, a guy who pitches once every five days isn’t quite the same thing as a hitter who’s out there patrolling right field every night.

The Yankees trail the Red Sox by 4.5 games in the American League East. They occupy the first wild-card spot, leading Seattle by five in the loss column and third-place Oakland by seven.

The Tampa Bay Rays are fourth in the wild-card, but at 53-50, they are 13 games behind the Yankees and pose no threat.

Judge was having a fantastic season before the injury, easily the best player on the Yankees’ roster.

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Through 101 games, Judge is on 5.4 wins above replacement. That’s a pace of 8.7 WAR over a full season.

For perspective, Joe DiMaggio only reached that level once in his career, in a year when he went on a 56-game hitting streak and ended with 9.1 WAR in 1941.

The Yankees’ ostensible backup in right field is Stanton, but that leaves open the question of who will DH.

With the trade deadline still four days away, New York will probably look to the trade market, because nobody currently healthy on their roster can replace a guy who’s drawing comparisons to Joltin’ Joe.

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