Aaron Judge reveals whether he is playing to chase his single-season HR record

Oct 18, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts at the end of the fifth inning in game five of the ALDS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees just clinched their second division title in the last three seasons, and that appears to be good enough for now for Aaron Judge.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed to reporters on Friday whether Judge, who is currently at 58 homers on the year, is playing to chase his own single-season home run record. Boone said that Judge hasn’t expressed any interest in doing so.

“No. He’s not playing for any of that,” said Boone of Judge, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

With three games left to play, the six-time All-Star Judge is four homers shy of the AL-record 62 homers he set in 2022, the year he won MVP. But Judge has already surpassed his MVP season in a lot of other statistics, including batting average (.325), OPS (1.169), RBIs (144), and total bases (392). As such, he seems content with just letting the rest of the regular season ride.

But though they have already clinched the AL East, the Yankees still have homefield advantage to play for at 93-66. They only have a one-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for best record in the AL and are two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball overall.

Judge has made very clear in recent days how badly he wants to win, and so any secondary statistical chase is clearly not even on his radar at this point.