New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge has once more slugged his way into the Major League Baseball record books.
This 33-year-old future hall of famer, who is known for hitting majestic home runs, gave Yankee Stadium fans some reason to cheer when on Saturday afternoon in a 5-2 loss against the Chicago Cubs, Judge created some ninth-inning magic when he made history by becoming the fastest MLB player to reach the 350 home run mark.
Aaron Judge Reaches 350 Home Run Mark
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Judge, who is a three-time AL home run champion set the record when with one out, and a man on base, Judge, who found himself behind 0-2 in the count, connected on a 97-mile-per-hour four-seam fastball from Cubs reliever Brad Keller for a two-run shot which accounted for all of New York’s runs.
To show what a special player Judge is, this record-breaking 350 career home run came in 192 fewer games than the previous record holder in Mark McGuire.
McGuire, who as baseball fans know hit 49 home runs as a rookie and had that controversial season in 1998 of 70 home runs, held the record of 350 home runs in 1,280 games while Judge needed only 1,088 games.
Following this game, which also saw Judge hit two doubles the big man showed what a gentleman he is as he took some time to praise McGuire and what he did as a player.
“Big Mac did a lot of great things in this game, and he’s definitely a legend,” Judge said. The Yankees captain who was also the fastest to hit 300 home runs also had some high praise for his teammates.
“It would have been great if we got a win today if you do something like that,” Judge said. “I’ve had a lot of great teammates and I’ve been on some good teams. They put me in the best position to go out there and perform at my best. It’s just a shoutout to all the teammates I’ve had over the years.”
With only one game remaining until the All-Star break, Judge leads the league in various offensive AL categories such as batting average at .354, hits with 111, on-base percentage at .462, total bases with 250, slugging percentage at .725, runs scored with 84, times on base at 195 and extra-base hits with 58. These are just some of the many offensive categories that Judge leads. In home runs, Judge with his 35 finds himself in second, three behind Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Raleigh, who is having a career season also leads the American League with 81 RBIs which is two ahead of second-place Judge.
Ever since breaking in with the Yankees in 2017 and smashing an American League home run rookie record with 52, Judge has been building up an impressive first ballot hall of fame resume.
So far in his career Judge’s resume includes playing in seven All-Star Games, winning two AL MVPs (2022 and 2024), AL Rookie of the Year (2017), four Silver Slugger Awards (2017, 2021, 2022, and 2024), two-time winner of the Hank Aaron Award (2022, 2024), Roberto Clemente Award (2023), three-time AL home run leader (2017, 2022 and 2024) and two time AL RBI leader in 2022 and 2024.
The one glaring thing missing from Judge’s baseball resume is a World Series title.
Main Image: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
