ST. PETERSBURG -- The 2008 season was a fun time to be at Tropicana Field, when Joe Maddon’s surprising group developed into stars and shocked the baseball world by winning the American League pennant, filling their home stadium for the World Series with hordes of cowbell-clanging fans. Aaron Judge was

ST. PETERSBURG -- The 2008 season was a fun time to be at Tropicana Field, when Joe Maddon’s surprising group developed into stars and shocked the baseball world by winning the American League pennant, filling their home stadium for the World Series with hordes of cowbell-clanging fans.

Aaron Judge was in his junior year as a three-sport athlete at Linden (Calif.) High School that autumn, but he inadvertently paid tribute to the Rays’ memorable run during batting practice on Wednesday, when the Yankees star demolished a BP offering that struck the Rays’ 2008 AL East Champions banner high above left field.

The ball dropped to the “D” ring catwalk, then fell to a clamoring group of awestruck fans below.

Judge isn’t the first Major Leaguer to reach the flags honoring that ’08 club, which fell to the Phillies in the Fall Classic. In July, Rays right fielder Avisail Garcia mashed a 459-foot blast that hit the same banner in a game against the White Sox.

Two years ago, Marcell Ozuna -- then with the Marlins -- hit a 468-foot shot that connected with a banner celebrating the '11 Rays, who captured the AL Wild Card.

Judge is setting his sights on reaching 30 homers, having cracked seven so far in September to swell his season tally to 26. He’s also engaged in a playful ongoing battle with teammate Brett Gardner, who has 27 homers.