NEW YORK — Aaron Judge was hustled out of the dugout to receive a curtain call from Yankee Stadium fans, and it was well deserved. The Yankees captain’s historic climb reached another milestone when he hit his 50th and 51st home runs in New York’s 10-3 win over the Rockies on Sunday.
Judge hit a two-run homer in the top of the first inning off Austin Gomber to reach the 50-home run milestone for the third time in his career and the second time in three seasons.
The Yankees hit three straight home runs in the seventh inning, off Jeff Criswell, Juan Soto, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. As Judge rounded the bases, chants of “MVP!” rang out throughout the big Bronx stadium.
“I’ve come this far trying to be a better hitter, a better teammate, so that’s what I’m going to do,” Judge said. “If I can do that, I think I’ll be able to put in some good numbers at the end of the year and I think the numbers will be what I expect them to be.”
Judge is just the fifth player in MLB history to hit 50 or more home runs in three or more seasons, joining Babe Ruth (four times), Mark McGwire (four times), Sammy Sosa (four times) and Alex Rodriguez (three times). Judge is the first player to accomplish this in three of his first nine major league seasons.
While Judge continues to try to surpass Roger Maris’ 61 and reach his own American League record of 62 home runs in 2022, the 32-year-old is recognized as one of the most impressive and consistent hitters in the major leagues, and Soto suggested a shot at Barry Bonds’ single-season record of 73 home runs is not out of the question.
“If there’s anybody in the league that can do that, I think it’s him,” Soto said.
McGwire also said Judge has the potential to break Bonds’ record. For now, Judge wants to focus on what he calls the Yankees’ “big mission.”
Winning a World Series is Judge’s biggest goal, and his performance will help him get there. His teammates have been full of praise for him in a season where he reached 300 home runs the quickest possible, both in at-bats and games played.
“It’s unbelievable,” Stanton said, “he does something special every day. We almost take for granted how great he is and how important he is to our offense and the whole team.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said as the team travels around the league, opposing players and coaches frequently ask him what it’s like watching Judge play every day.
“Honestly, I don’t have words for what he’s doing,” Boone said. “We’re on the train. [to Washington]”… I need to get my dictionary out and get to work, because it’s fantastic.”
As he left Baltimore’s Camden Yards on May 2 after struggling to get a hit and dropping his batting average to .197, Judge expressed confidence that things would get better soon: “Just a few tweaks and I’ll be good in no time.”
Judge hit his stride that month, batting .361 with a 1.397 OPS and 14 homers in May, then improved upon it in June, batting .409 with a 1.378 OPS and 11 homers.
“That just goes to show that it’s not how you start, but how you finish,” Soto said. “Everybody was worried about him at the beginning. I wasn’t worried at all. We know how good a player he is. It’s unbelievable when a guy hits home runs every day. I’ve never seen a guy hit home runs that consistently.”
Judge’s production dipped slightly in July, batting just .318 with a 1.106 OPS and eight home runs, a arguably lighter month for him, but his performance took another step in August.
“He’s playing a video game,” Stanton said, then added, “The best player in the world makes it look easy. We all rely on that and he surprises us every night. We’re glad to have him on our side.”
“His season may be over now, but it could be a really good, special year for him,” Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes said.
Fortunately for Judge and the Yankees, there’s plenty more to come: Only 11 seasons in franchise history have seen a player hit 50 or more home runs, and Judge has three of them (2017, 2022, 2024).
Ruth played four of those seasons, hitting 60 home runs in 1927, a major league record until Maris hit 61 in 1961. Mickey Mantle hit 54 home runs in 1961 and 52 in ’56. Rodriguez hit 54 home runs in 2007.
While Judge has made a point of keeping his feet on the ground, and part of his success is down to a philosophy of not being satisfied until he hits 1.000, his teammates are sure to be grateful for the history unfolding before their eyes every night.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to be there and take it all in,” pitcher Marcus Stroman said. “It’s something that maybe I’ll never see again.”
