New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a double against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on July 12. Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Aaron Judge Set to Kick Off Second Half in Pursuit of Triple Crown History

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 11:30 AM ET

From a team perspective, the New York Yankees enter the second half of the season on Friday trying to get back into the driver's seat in the American League East. They trail the Toronto Blue Jays by two games, but they do have a one-game lead on the Boston Red Sox for the first wild card position.

However, on an individual front, Aaron Judge is trying to make some history by becoming the eighth player in the last 95 years to win the Triple Crown.

Per @StatsCentre:

Though Cal Raleigh has been a formidable foe for the AL home run and RBI leads, @Yankees slugger Aaron Judge isn't too far back in either category and his .355 batting average is 23 points up on 2nd. If Judge can top Raleigh in the other 2 aspects, he'll add his name to this list

Though Cal Raleigh has been a formidable foe for the AL home run and RBI leads, @Yankees slugger Aaron Judge isn't too far back in either category and his .355 batting average is 23 points up on 2nd. If Judge can top Raleigh in the other 2 aspects, he'll add his name to this list pic.twitter.com/qkwz73rpcy
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) July 18, 2025

Judge has 35 home runs and 81 RBIs, which just trail Raleigh's 38 homers and 82 RBIs. Miguel Cabrera was the last player to win the Triple Crown, doing so with the Detroit Tigers in 2012. Prior to that, it hadn't happened since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski did so for the Red Sox.

The Yankees will play the Atlanta Braves on Friday night with first pitch coming at 7:15 p.m. ET. The Braves, who are 42-53 and one of the most disappointing teams in the sport, will send Spencer Strider to the mound. He's just 3-7 with a 3.94 ERA, and he's spent two terms on the injured list.

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

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