Yankees slugger Aaron Judge on the verge of rare 10-WAR season

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 56th and 57th home runs of the season on Tuesday night, bringing him two steps closer to Roger Maris' season American League record — and closer to another rare milestone.

Judge has a 9.7 WAR (wins above replacement), according to FanGraphs, which not only leads the league by a considerable margin, but also could place his season among the very best in recent memory. 

WAR is a metric designed to encapsulate a player's total value. According to MLB, "WAR measures a player's value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he's worth than a replacement-level player at his same position." 

After Judge, Shohei Ohtani (8.2) and Paul Goldschmidt (6.9) are next on the WAR leaderboard this season. A 10-WAR season is considered to be spectacular, and it has only been achieved by two active players.

Mike Trout posted a 10.1 WAR as a rookie in 2012 and a 10.2 WAR in 2013. In 2018, Mookie Betts had a 10.6 WAR for the Red Sox. 

Since 2000, the only other players to notch 10-WAR seasons are Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Buster Posey. Bonds and Rodriguez, of course, admitted that they used steroids during the statistical peaks of their careers.

If you look back as far as 1990, only Cal Ripken Jr. and Rickey Henderson join those five players in the 10-WAR club. 

If Judge reaches the 10-WAR mark, his historic year will officially stand among the best seasons of recent Hall of Famers and record-setters.