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Aaron Judge's Sneaky MLB Record Could Be Yankees' Key in Wild Card Game 3

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zach Kaplan | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 8:35 PM ET

Highlights

Yankees captain Aaron Judge has a reputation of not rising to the occasion in the postseason.
Judge, however, possesses the all-time MLB record for home runs (4) in a winner-take-allplayoff game.
Judge's last such home run came in Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS against the Guardians, a game where fellow Bomber Giancarlo Stanton also homered.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge has a reputation for wilting in the biggest moments, with an OPS and average several points lower than his mammoth regular season numbers. However, one stat may dispel that notion.

In 60 career postseason games, Judge has a .215 batting average, 16 home runs and 35 runs batted in. His propensity to not match his absurd regular season numbers was on full display in the Yankees' 2024 run to the World Series, with the $360 million man hitting .184 with a middling .752 OPS in 14 games last fall.

As the Yankees gear up for a massive winner-take-all wild-card rubber game with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium tonight, Judge should be noted as having the all-time MLB record for home runs in a winner-take all postseason game, with four in his career.

Oct 22, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) strikes out in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros during game three of the ALCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Judge's last home run in a winner-take-all playoff game came in Game 5 of the 2022 American League Division Series against the Guardians, the last game the Yankees would win that postseason before being swept in the ALCS by the Houston Astros.

Prior to that, Judge homered in Game 5 of the 2020 ALDS against the Rays, along with home runs in the 2017 and 2018 win-or-go-home Wild Card games against the Twins and Athletics respectively.

It's a sneaky advantage for a team that favors the long ball, and in a ballpark that also favors the home run. The Yankees lead the MLB with 274 home runs, 30 more than the runner-up Dodgers.

If Judge can find the seats with one in Thursday's pivotal Game 3, the Yankees' chances of moving onto the ALDS against the Blue Jays would go up dramatically.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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