Yankees star Aaron Judge is in elite company after 50th home run

Judge’s 50^th home run marks the fourth time in his career he has achieved such a milestone. Up until Wednesday, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Babe Ruth were the only other players to mash 50-plus home runs in a season on four separate occasions.

Thus far, no player has reached the 50 HR mark five times in their career, meaning these four all-time greats sit at the top of the leaderboards in this particular field, displaying longevity in their respective power profiles. However, as the only active player with this status, Judge has the best chance of setting a new record.

Judge’s prolific mark on baseball history 

As his latest accomplishment would suggest, Judge is no ordinary player. He briefly held the rookie record for home runs with a 52 in 2017. After losing the rookie record, he treated Yankee fans to an encore in 2022, when he set the AL HR record with 62. He is also the fastest player to both 300 and 350 home runs. Of the several times he has etched his name in the MLB history books, these are, thus far, his most notable entries.

What makes Judge less of a generational talent and more of a “once-in-a-lifetime” type of talent is his ability, not just to hit for power, but to excel at all aspects of hitting. This season, he is in the mix to win his first batting title and third MVP award. Since 2022 (including this season), Judge has led all of MLB in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (OPS = OBP + SLG) three years out of four (led in home runs twice), recording OPS numbers above 1.000 in all four years.

Judge’s status among the greats not only validates his reputation as a slugger, but cements his legacy as one the game’s best.