Aaron Judge tops Chris Evans in home run race, falls short in ‘Sexiest Man Alive’

News broke Tuesday evening that New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge had reached the vaunted peak of People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” rankings for 2022, falling just short of the mountaintop and taking fourth place behind Chris Evans, the Bostonian Captain America.

If it’s any solace to Judge, while he may have come up small in this year’s hotness rankings, he still earned some impressive hardware this season by absolutely pasting Evans in the chase for the American League single-season home run record.

In that head-to-head battle, Judge triumphed 62 to 0, passing Roger Maris’ mark of 61 during the season’s final series against the Texas Rangers.

Evans, on the other hand, never got going this season, failing to connect for a single round-tripper while never really making the Maris family nervous at any point.

By the time September rolled around, Roger Maris Jr. was free to follow Judge and Judge alone across North America, from the Bronx to Toronto to Dallas. There was no need whatsoever to set up a second traveling party to trail Evans.

Aaron Judge comes in fourth in People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” race vs Chris Evans

Overall, Judge slotted into People’s countdown behind Evans, Kendrick Lamar, and George Clooney, none of whom slugged a single longball during the 2022 season (though Clooney did hit 38 in 2021).

Regardless of the high-profile snub, Judge still has plenty to be proud of after a ’22 season to remember. He’s in the midst of his first-ever (and hopefully last-ever) free agent wine-and-dine, which landed after an all-time “Bet on Yourself” season that looks great on paper even without passing Evans on the Handsome Scale.

The same cannot be said for Evans, who didn’t get to jog around the bases or high-five third base coach Luis Rojas even once this year, instead posting an empty season that rivals anything Cody Bellinger managed to put up in Hollywood.

Plus, according to Quentin Tarantino, Evans doesn’t even qualify as a star. That’s got to be an ego blow, especially considering Tarantino has been oddly silent on Judge’s superstar season.

Judge will try again next season to remove his helmet as much as possible, shaking his head from side-to-side in a devil-may-care gesture that just might vault him above at least Clooney and Lamar.

Meanwhile, another long offseason awaits Evans, whose swing appears to be in need of a total overhaul.

Aaron Judge spotted in San Francisco for free agent tour as Yankees clench teeth

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is taking a free agent meeting with the San Francisco Giants during the Thanksgiving week.