How many home runs does Judge need to beat Babe Ruth record?
The New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge registered his 41st home run of the season on Friday, taking him level with a 94-year-old record held by Babe Ruth.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone couldn’t help himself. “He’s amazing,” Boone spontaneously said before a question had landed in the press conference that followed Aaron Judge’s latest performance, one that saw him hit his record-equalling 41st homer and take him to 89 RBIs on the season.
And it ain’t over just yet! After fans cheer for former Yankees on Saturday during Old-Timers’ Day, Judge gets another chance at continuing his memorable season when New York plays host to the Kansas City Royals.
Judge has driven in seven of New York’s 12 runs in the four-game series. He hit a game-ending homer off Scott Barlow to give the Yankees a 1-0 win on Thursday, then reached 40 homers with a two-run drive in the third inning and hit a grand slam to cap an eight-run eighth in New York’s 11-5 win on Friday.
“It’s just a steady dose of amazingness every day,” New York pitcher Gerrit Cole said.
Besides leading the Yankees to their second straight win following a stretch of five losses in seven games, Judge achieved a number of things on Friday.
Judge is decisive
He set a team record with his ninth multi-homer game this season, became the second Yankee to hit at least 41 homers through his team’s first 101 games, joining Babe Ruth in 1921 and 1928, and also joined Ruth and Roger Maris as the third Yankee to reach 40 homers before August.
Judge is one shy of 200 career home runs and has slugged 11 in his past 13 games. He has three multi-homer games in his past 11 contests and is hitting .476 (20-for-42) with 10 homers and 23 RBIs in that span.
“Just a special player doing really amazing things,” Boone said.
Yankees players with most home runs before August:
| Year | Player | Home runs |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Aaron Judge | 41 |
| 1928 | Babe Ruth | 41 |
| 1961 | Roger Maris | 40 |
| 1961 | Mickey Mantle | 39 |
Judge will overtake Ruth in the weekend series at home to the Kansas City Royals.
Also out to beat Maris’ season record
In the history of the Yankees, Roger Maris is the man who has managed the most home runs in a season, with 61 - a figure that Judge also looks like beating, as long as he avoids injuries and continues at his current pace of 0.4 home runs per game. Prior to the start of this campaign, Judge rejected the Yankees’ offer of a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension. Instead of banking that figure, the outfielder backed himself to put together a season that would raise his value.
So far, Judge is doing just that. Helping the Yankees to win their first World Series since 2009 would provide him with the biggest bargaining chip possible in his bid to get the money he thinks he’s worth.