Aaron Judge outpacing Roger Maris with home runs
Aug 23, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) runs to first base after hitting a single against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Aaron Judge is having an MVP-caliber season for the New York Yankees and on track to have one of the all-time great power seasons in team history.
Judge, 30, hit his league-leading 21st home run on Saturday during the first inning of the Yankees’ 3-0 win over the Detroit Tigers. With that homer, he joined Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Luke Voit as just the fourth Yankee ever to clobber at least 21 homers through the first 53 games of a season.
All Rise for a Leadoff Dinger 👨⚖️ pic.twitter.com/QMvbdVYWO4
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 4, 2022
Judge, the American League Player of the Month for May, is also ahead of the pace Mantle and Roger Maris set when Maris broke the Yankees’ single-season home run record with 61 in 1961.
Through 53 games that year, Maris had 20 homers and Mantle had 18. After Saturday, Judge is on track for 63 home runs, 126 RBI and 183 hits.
Through #Yankees' 53rd game of the season…
2022 Judge 21 HRs
1961 Maris 20 HRs
1961 Mantle 18 HRs— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) June 4, 2022
At his current pace, Aaron Judge would finish the season at these numbers:
63 homers
27 doubles
129 runs
126 RBI
183 hits
72 walks— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 4, 2022
The three-time All-Star is having arguably the best season of any player in MLB.
He currently leads the majors in home runs (21), slugging percentage (.689) and OPS (1.075), while leading the American League in runs scored (43). His 42 RBI are tied for the fifth-most in MLB, and his 61 hits leave him in a four-way tie for ninth place. Judge also leads the majors with 133 total bases.
If Judge continues on this torrid pace for the entire season, he should have no problem eclipsing the Yankees’ pre-season contract extension offer.
