Yankees' Aaron Judge takes notice of that other 6-foot-7 guy playing for the Pirates

So much of what Derek Shelton witnessed Wednesday night was jarring for the Pittsburgh Pirates manager:

From the six Yankees home runs (two grand slams) to their 16 runs and 22 hits (eight in one inning) to his own team reaching base only five times (three singles, one double and a walk).

Shelton also saw something he never has seen before and likely won’t see again for a long time:

Someone just as large and imposing — moreso, actually — standing next to Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz.

The Yankees’ 6-foot-7 slugger Aaron Judge was on second, standing next to Cruz, after one of the four times he reached base.

“It’s interesting,” Shelton said. “They were standing out there … and, usually, when you stand next to Oneil, everybody looks small. Judge doesn’t look small next to Oneil. You don’t see that very often. So, it’s definitely an anomaly.”

There are a few details about Cruz and Judge that are similar:

• They both stand 6-foot-7, although Judge checks in at 282 pounds, 62 heavier than Cruz.

• They both hit the ball hard. Judge’s grand slam was clocked at 114.7 mph. Cruz’s infield single Wednesday came off his bat at 113.8 mph.

• They both are turning heads. Judge, 30, leads MLB with 30 home runs and the American League with 64 RBIs. Cruz continually impresses people with his bursts of speed, arm strength and power at the plate.

“I’m pretty impressed (with Cruz),” Judge said Wednesday night. “I know he’s young (23). He’s going to have a bright future in this game. He has all the tools, all the intangibles. I’m looking forward to seeing him develop at the major-league level.”

When Judge was asked about how difficult it must be for a man of such long stature to play shortstop, he appeared almost offended.

“I played shortstop in Little League,” he said. “I think I have a chance, but I think I lost a step on the infield.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone called Cruz “a pretty special athlete.”

“Understandably, he’s created a lot of buzz (in Pittsburgh) and throughout baseball, just with his physicality. You don’t see that size pretty much ever at shortstop.

“To have that kind of arm strength and pop off his bat, the way he moves, the way he runs, he has a chance to be a really good player.”

Like Judge, Cruz doesn’t see his height as necessarily an impediment to playing shortstop.

“My mindset has always been to just be a winner,” Cruz said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “I’ve never really focused so much on my height or the height of others.

“Even when I play, I understand I am a tall individual, but I never put too much thought into it. I always grew up playing hard and playing with a winning mindset.”

Of Judge he said, “I’m pretty sure he grew up just playing ball hard and not really focusing on his height, but focused on being a winner and being a competitor.”

Cruz is the tallest player to start a game at shortstop in major-league history, according to MLB.com. Judge holds that distinction among center fielders.

Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2015 (he was not yet 17-years-old), Cruz said that team’s coaches and scout encouraged him to play shortstop.

“Even though you’re tall,” he said, quoting Dodgers personnel, “and you’re the tallest right now in the league when it comes to playing shortstop, remain as a shortstop because you’re a natural shortstop and you move like shortstop and you’re equipped enough to play that position.”

The Pirates apparently concur. Cruz has started at shortstop in 15 of the 17 games since he was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 20.

He said he’s heard from people who have warned him about playing shortstop at 6-foot-7, but he remains steadfast in his belief that he can break the mold.

Meanwhile, he’s committed only two errors among his 89 chances (18 games, including two last year) while slashing .217/.236/.449 with four home runs, 16 RBIs and 24 strikeouts in 72 plate appearances.

Judge struck out 30 times in his first 18 games in 2016, with a .172/.258/.362 slash line, three homers and nine RBIs. Today, he’s chasing Roger Maris.

The two men never have met, beyond Cruz waving hello from a distance in spring training. Cruz just wants to concentrate on getting acclimated to playing on a big-league stage.

“The game is the same,” he said, “but when it comes to the speed of the game, when it comes to the atmosphere of the game, when it comes to the fans, those are things that have stood out to me.

“Especially these past couple days, the fans have been showing up (70,147 for the two Yankees games at PNC Park). Even when we go to another stadium, we hear that crowd and it’s energizing. It’s life-giving. It pumps me up.

“The game is baseball, and that doesn’t really change. But up here, the speed of the game changes, the atmosphere, the vibes and, more than anything, just the loudness of the fans.”