CHICAGO — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone sometimes stands on the top step of the dugout as Aaron Judge approaches the plate, savoring the reality of being in one of the most advantageous positions in baseball.
“I remind myself every day what he's watching out there and what he's accomplished and what kind of player and hitter he's become,” Boone said Sunday. “It's amazing.”
Boone watched from the visitors' dugout on Wednesday as Judge hit his 300th career home run, a 361-footer to left field in the eighth inning off Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Chad Kuhl. Judge became the fastest player to reach his 300th career home run in 955 games, surpassing Ralph Kiner's record of 1,087 games, and did so in the fewest at-bats ever, with 3,431 at-bats; the previous record-holder, Babe Ruth, reached the milestone in 3,830 at-bats.
Fastest player to reach 300 home runs
| player | Total Games |
|---|---|
|
Aaron Judge |
955 |
|
Ralph Kiner |
1,087 |
|
Ryan Howard |
1,093 |
|
Juan Gonzalez |
1,096 |
|
Alex Rodriguez |
1,117 |
|
Giancarlo Stanton |
1,119 |
Judge has hit 43 home runs this season, putting him on pace for 58 and breaking the AL record of 62 home runs in a season that he set in 2022. Even if Judge doesn't reach 62 home runs, he has had a better season overall this year than 2022. His batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and strikeout rate are up compared to his 2022 season. Historically, Judge's current wRC+ is the fourth-best offensive season since 1957, bettered only by Barry Bonds' 2001, 2002 and 2004 seasons. Judge and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. compete for the top spot in the fWAR rankings, but Judge, having one of the best offensive seasons of all time, should be the favorite to win his second AL MVP award.
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“It's unbelievable. He does something special every night,” teammate Giancarlo Stanton said of Judge. “I've been able to watch most of his career so far — except for one year — and it's been fun to watch his development.”
The 32-year-old Judge is the 13th active player to hit 300 home runs, while Stanton leads the way with 422. The next most active player to hit 300 home runs is Judge's teammate and close friend Anthony Rizzo, who has 303.
Judge is averaging 51 home runs per 162 career games. If he maintains this pace, Judge will hit 500 career home runs in his age-36 season. Stanton is approaching 500 home runs, but his inability to stay healthy may put him just short of the milestone. Given Judge's age and his status as the most prolific slugger since Bonds, Judge could be the next active player to join the 500-home run club.
“He can still do more,” Stanton said.
Going deeper
On the cusp of 300 home runs, Aaron Judge is being treated like Barry Bonds, and with good reason.
(Photo: Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
