Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a solo home run in the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Yankee Stadium. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

History Suggests New York Yankees Slugger Aaron Judge Is On Pace For Another MVP

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Sam Connon | Last updated May 7, 2025 12:18 PM ET

Aaron Judge already has two MVP awards under his belt, and his historic start to 2025 has him on track to add a third.

The New York Yankees right fielder hit a fourth-inning home run against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, powering his team to a 12-3 win. Judge finished the contest 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.

Judge is now batting .412 with 12 home runs, nine doubles, 34 runs, 34 RBIs, three stolen bases, a 1.275 OPS and a 3.1 WAR through 36 games in 2025. The 33-year-old leads MLB in hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and WAR.

According to Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, Judge is the fifth player with a batting average of at least .400, an OPS of at least 1.250 and at least 12 home runs through the first 36 games of a season in the Wild Card Era.

Of the four players to achieve the feat before Judge, three went on to win MVP. Larry Walker, Joe Mauer and Cody Bellinger rode their hot starts to hardware in 1997, 2009 and 2019, respectively, while Todd Helton only managed to finish fifth in NL MVP voting in 2000.

Aaron Judge is the 5th player with .400+ BA, 12+ HR and a 1.250+ OPS through the first 36 games of a season in the Wild Card Era, joining Cody Bellinger (2019), Joe Mauer (2009), Todd Helton (2000) & Larry Walker (1997).
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Judge is on pace for a 13.9 WAR, which would rank second only behind Babe Ruth's 1923 campaign on the all-time single-season leaderboards. His previous career high is 10.8, a figure he reached in both 2022 and 2024 en route to AL MVP honors.

Should he go on to win his third MVP, make his seventh All-Star appearance and claim his fifth Silver Slugger, Judge would become the sixth player to accomplish all of those feats. The list is currently made up of Mike Schmidt, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds.

The Yankees and Padres are set to close out their three-game series Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET, giving Judge yet another chance to add to his gaudy stat line.

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

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