Dave Reardon: Thankfully, Aaron Judge brings good news to sports world

Oct. 5—Thank you, Aaron Judge.

We needed that.

While waiting for you to hit home run No. 62 yesterday, the other "sports " stories I scrolled through included Tom Brady filing divorce papers and reports of Herschel Walker apparently being a bad husband and father.

Thank you, Aaron Judge.

We needed that.

While waiting for you to hit home run No. 62 yesterday, the other "sports " stories I scrolled through included Tom Brady filing divorce papers and reports of Herschel Walker apparently being a bad husband and father.

And of course, more about concussions.

Then there's 125 soccer fans killed in a riot that turned into a stampede at a match in Indonesia. And now there's a wide-ranging report of systemic sexual and emotional abuse of female soccer players at all levels by coaches.

I'm not saying that (most of ) these stories aren't important and shouldn't be covered extensively.

But right now is one of those times when the toy department isn't mostly about the fun-and-games that it's supposed to be about. Sports are supposed to provide us some respite and distraction from the real world. Other people have TikTok and Wordle, we have box scores and standings.

When Judge knocked that ball out of the park in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, he also knocked one or two of those ugly stories off of front pages, at least temporarily. He reminded us that, yes, there is joy to be derived from sports—and that we're nearing that great time in the calendar when baseball, football and basketball overlap for a few blissful weeks.

I just wish it were home run No. 74 instead of 62.

If you're a Barry Bonds fan, take it easy. I won't, ahem, judge him.

But you can have Bonds, and it's not even about steroids.

Like some folks, I just have this strange preference for people who treat others well over those who don't. Call me crazy, but it's easier for me to get behind a guy no one has a negative thing to say about, ever, than another guy who was voted off his college team by his peers (it really happened, but Bonds' coach at Arizona State, Jim Brock, whose idea it was to hold the vote, overruled the result ).

I don't hate, or even "sports hate " anyone ... it takes too much energy, and it's literally against my religion.

But, there are people I quietly or secretly root for more than others. There are many reasons why Judge should be among the others—not just for me, but for sports fans in general, and especially your typical Hawaii sports fan.

Reason No. 1 : He's a Yankee. Back when as a kid I was emotionally invested in the Boston Red Sox, of course I had a distinct distaste for anyone in baseball pinstripes, including that gang in "The Warriors."

Most of it's worn off as my dedication to journalism outlasted my dedication to fandom of specific franchises (well, franchises other than Taco Bell ; that one's a lifetime commitment ). I've still got some Bucky @#$%ing Dent induced PTSD left over from 1978. Actually, it doesn't matter who your favorite MLB team is ; if it ain't the Yankees, they might be your favorite to see lose simply because they win so much.

Reason No. 2 : He's a giant. No, not a Giant, a giant. At 6 feet 7, Judge is big even by big-league standards.

I understand that baseball batters with huge strike zones have some disadvantages, but the powerful swing that someone that tall and strong is capable of generating can more than make up for it.

He was a Bulldog (more on that in Reason No. 3 ), but you can't really say Judge was ever an underdog. And I love me some underdogs ; I think most of us in Hawaii do, because that's what most of us are, or at least grew up as.

Reason No. 3 : From 2011 to 2013, Judge played for Fresno State. Ten years ago, the Hawaii-Fresno State rivalry was still intense, regardless of the sport. I remember this humongous guy who could run, and the 'Dogs—who were recent NCAA champions—being so loaded that Judge batted sixth. Well, he was a freshman.

Reason No. 4 : Aaron Judge messed up Paul Ogata's comedy act.

Ogata says he thinks he might be the only guy from Pearl City who never played Little League baseball. These days he gets paid to make people laugh.

But something went terribly wrong last week at the Strat in Las Vegas.

"Guy in the front row was visibly furious the whole show because he missed seeing Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run while driving to Vegas. His wife brought him to my show to cheer him up, " said Ogata, who later referred to the unhappy customer as "a salty rageball."

Even Judge can't make everybody happy all the time.

Hopefully the salty rageball got to see No. 62.