New York Yankees superstar slugger Aaron Judge added another considerable milestone to his MVP-worthy 2024 MLB season earlier this week, and paired that with a stellar defensive play on the day.
Judge hit his 1,000th career hit in the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday. The 32-year-old was not the youngest player to reach that career feat by any stretch, as that record belongs to baseball Hall-of-Famer Ty Cobb, followed by 22 other greats who did so by their age-25 season, per Marc Normandin of SB Nation. It would be fair to judge the Fresno State product on how quickly he reached the achievement, but he was not the fastest to do so either.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge made rare history at the plate in 2024
Where Judge can boast is in how effective he has been as a hitter both for power and for average on the campaign. His 1,000 hits came after he became the fastest player in MLB history to hit 300 home runs, which he did in his 955th game on Aug. 14 in the Yankees’ 10-2 triumph over the Chicago White Sox, per ESPN. That feat also placed his name next to Mark McGwire as the only two players to ever hit 300 home runs before reaching 1,000 hits.
In terms of where the California native ranks all-time in Yankees history in the hits department, he tied former Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon for No. 42 in franchise history on Monday. Since doing so, Judge has registered three more hits — one apiece in three of his last four games, against the Nationals twice more, and most recently against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. This put him ahead of Gordon for ownership of the No. 41 overall spot. He now needs 37 more hits to pass former New York first baseman Tino Martinez for No. 40 all-time and the bus doesn’t stop there.
Judge could rise even further on Yanks’ all-time home runs list next year
Judge’s 1,003 career hits in 969 games played has him averaging 1.03 hits per game. If he plays his career average of 108 games in 2025, he will be positioned to record 111 hits next time out. That would have him ascend to No. 36 in franchise history over former Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek.
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Judge also made a breathtaking defensive play in his historic outing against the Nats
Aside from Judge’s nonpareil hitting on the campaign, he also made a stellar defensive play against the Nats on Monday that showed his ability to also impressively flash the leather. He robbed Nationals slugger Jose Tena of a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning that left everybody who beheld it in awe, as Fox Sports: MLB shared on X:
The spectacular play only amplified his MVP case further while also adding another bragworthy highlight to his reel for the season. Judge’s work in the outfield has gone under the radar in comparison to his otherworldly slugging at the plate. He owns a 1.000 fielding percentage with 233 putouts and four assists to no errors on the year. The impressive grab on Monday could end up being the poster for his work on defense when the regular season is said and done.
