MLB
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge on pace to finish season with 58 home runs
The Yankees outfielder, who leads several offensive departments, is the main candidate to win the MVP award.
Last weekend was difficult for the Yankees. Under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, they lost their first home series of the season and saw their impenetrable defences breached by a Teoscar Hernández led Dodgers side. But even in adversity, there were moments of brilliance: on Sunday, the Yankees closed the series with a victory that revitalised their spirits in a comeback led by the ever reliable Aaron Judge.
Judge, in his ninth season in Major League Baseball, hit his twenty-fourth home run of the year, putting his name alongside some of the greats of MLB. If Judge maintains such a ferocious pace, he will finish the season with a staggering total of 58 home runs, a tally that is only surpassed by the 62 he achieved in 2022, which broke the old American League record that Roger Maris held back in 1961 with 61.
What is Aaron Judges record with the Yankees this season?
Judge’s statistics could well be brought out in various volumes of different hardback editions; the scale of the numbers make him a certain MVP candidate. He leads the league in home runs, racing away from his closest competitor, Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles, by four.
His on-base percentage (.436), slugging percentage (.703) and OPS (1.139) are testament to his dominance. Judge has accumulated 46 extra bases and reached 168 bases in total, figures that clearly shows the impact he has on teams game by game.
One more home run this month, and Judge will reach 25 before July for the third time in his career, a milestone only reached by legends like Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark McGwire in American League history.
Yankees with the most home runs in their first nine seasons:
- Aaron Judge | 281
- Mickey Mantle | 280
- Joe DiMaggio | 264
- Lou Gehrig | 233
A few hours before a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals, expectations are high, as is the tension before first pitch. Judge, in 31 games against the Royals, has maintained a batting average of .310, with 36 hits, 12 home runs and 25 RBIs.
Aaron Judge is writing an incredible story, where every swing of his bat is a line in the epic poem of his career. And it is not only his statistics, but his magnetic presence on the field continues to light up the Bronx and puts him firmly in the race for the MVP. In every game, in every at-bat, there is a glimpse of greatness, a constant reminder of why Aaron Judge is the beating heart of the New York Yankees.