New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) hits a solo home run in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium in 2025. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Aaron Judge Joins Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle in Unreal New York Yankees History

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Apr 17, 2025 9:15 AM ET

Aaron Judge broke a 3-3 tie with a game-winning home run in the seventh inning on Wednesday night as the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 at Yankee Stadium.

With the win, New York is now 11-7 on the year while the Royals fell to a disappointing 8-11.

Judge went 3-for-3 on the night with the homer, a walk and two runs scored. He's now hitting a robust .409 and carrying a 1.322 OPS. The home run was his seventh.

And according to Katie Sharp of Stathead, he's in some extremely prestigious company in team history.

Yankees in player's 1st 18 games of season with at least
.400 BA
.800 SLG
20 RBI
10 BB

Aaron Judge (2025)
Paul O'Neill (1994)
Mickey Mantle (1956)
Lou Gehrig (1927)

Yankees in player's 1st 18 games of season with at least
✅ .400 BA
✅ .800 SLG
✅ 20 RBI
✅10 BB

Aaron Judge (2025)
Paul O'Neill (1994)
Mickey Mantle (1956)
Lou Gehrig (1927)
— Katie Sharp (@SharpStats17) April 17, 2025

Even though he doesn't have the protection of Juan Soto (free agency) and Giancarlo Stanton (injury) in the lineup right now, Judge is putting together this massive season. The reigning American League MVP, he hit 58 homers a season ago and drove in 144.

Lifetime, he's a .290 hitter with 322 homers. The Yankees advanced to the World Series a season ago and Judge is doing his best to get them back there again this year.

The Yankees will be back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays. The caveat? The Yankees will be the visiting team at Steinbrenner Field, where they play spring training games.

First pitch is 7:05 p.m. ET as Will Warren (NYY) pitches against Taj Bradley (TBR).

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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