Yardbarker
x
New York Yankees Star Aaron Judge Remains Among Elite Company in MLB History
Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) on deck against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium. Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees avoided a sweep Sunday, even though Aaron Judge's power surge came to a close.

Judge went 0-for-4 with a walk and a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers, all while the Yankees went on to win 7-3. It was a departure from the first two games of the series, when Judge had five hits and three home runs as his team got outscored 26-7.

On the whole this season, Judge is still leading MLB with 86 hits, 68 total bases, a .391 batting average, a .485 on-base percentage, a .764 slugging percentage, a 1.248 OPS and a 4.7 WAR.

According to Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, Judge is one of five players in MLB history to have at least a .390 batting average and 1.248 OPS through the first 58 games of a season, minimum 200 plate appearances. He is the first player to achieve the feat since Larry Walker did so with the Colorado Rockies in 1997.

Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams make up the rest of the exclusive list.

Williams, notably, is the last player to finish a season with a batting average over .400. Even with a long road ahead of him, Judge has entered that race, looking to do what Walker, Tony Gwynn, Chipper Jones, Luis Arraez and others could not.

The 33-year-old outfielder looks like he is well on his way to a third AL MVP award regardless of if he can creep back over .400, considering he already has 21 home runs and 50 RBIs roughly a third of the way through the season.

Judge and the first-place Yankees have Monday off, then are slated to open a home series against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

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

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!