In the rich history of MLB, there have been nine different seasons in which a hitter has accumulated 60 or more home runs. Three of them have been achieved by members of the New York Yankees: Babe Ruth in 1927, Roger Maris in 1961, and Aaron Judge in 2022.
Only two players, to this point, have reached the 60-homer threshold more than once: Mark McGwire (1998, 1999) and Sammy Sosa (1998, 1999, 2001). Yankees star Aaron Judge has an outside chance of joining Big Mac and Slammin’ Sammy as the only mortals with multiple 60-home run campaigns if he manages to hit seven more from this point until the end of the regular season. After going yard twice over the weekend, he is at 53.
Aaron Judge still has a chance to reach a historic mark this season
By now, it’s a tall task: the Yankees have 12 games remaining in the calendar, and it would mean Judge will have to make some magic for it to happen. But if anyone in the league is capable of pulling off the feat, it’s definitely him.
As we have seen in several instances this year, Judge is capable of that and then some. For example, from May 12-25, he knocked eight balls out of the park over a 13-game stretch. From May 30 to June 11, he hit another eight, but this time, they came over an 11-game stretch.
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The Yankees’ captain can catch fire at any minute
His most prolific period was probably from August 14-25, where he went yard nine times in just 10 contests. When the Yankees’ All-Star gets hot, there is no better hitter in baseball. No one.
The Yankees’ priority, at this point, is securing the AL East crown. They have established a hard-fought three-game lead against the tough Baltimore Orioles, and the idea is to get that first-round bye. However, Judge can theoretically make a late push for his second 60-homer campaign.
His 16-game homerless streak from August 26 to September 12 will probably loom large and decide his fate. But it sure would be fun for the Yankees and the neutral observer if he could catch fire and make a run at the legendary mark again. It would be cool if Judge becomes the first mortal with multiple 60-homer seasons who didn’t play in the steroids era.
