Yankees’ Aaron Judge is aiming to break a franchise record in the upcoming days

aaron judge, yankees

Aaron Judge’s record season continues. The New York Yankees outfielder had been stuck in 29 home runs for a while, but he finally got to 30 with a grand slam in the victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

The slam at PNC Park in Pittsburgh helped propel a 16-0 win, to avenge a loss on Tuesday against the bucs. Judge became the first MLB hitter to reach 30 home runs this season, just like he was the first to 10 and 20, too.

According to MLB.com (link to NJ Advance article here), he is entering the record books in Yankees history: “With the slam, Judge tied Alex Rodriguez (2007) and, well, himself (’17) for the second-most home runs before the All-Star break in Yankees history. Roger Maris’ 33 homers in 1961 still stands as the record to beat. (Babe Ruth hit 32 in three seasons — ‘21, ‘28 and ‘30 — but all came before the first All-Star Game in ‘33.) Judge is also the second player in American League history with multiple seasons of 30 or more homers before the All-Star break, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (’94, ‘97 and ‘98).”

Making Yankees history

Can Judge hit three more homers over the weekend and tie Maris’ 33 bombs before the break? He still has two series against the Boston Red Sox (one of them will start later today) and one against the Cincinnati Reds, so it should be attainable.

Judge is also trying to set a new Yankees record for most homers over a single season. Here are the all-time leaders:

  • 61: Roger Maris, 1961
  • 60: Babe Ruth, 1927
  • 59: Babe Ruth, 1921
  • 54: Babe Ruth, 1920
  • 54: Babe Ruth, 1928
  • 54: Mickey Mantle, 1961
  • 54: Alex Rodriguez, 2007

The Yankees’ star, per ESPN, is projected to finish with 59 homers, 172 hits, 79 walks, 85 extra-base hits, 128 runs, and 126 RBI. It has been an incredible season for the upcoming free agent, who has already rejected a $213 million offer from the Yanks on Opening Day that would pay him north of $30 million per year.