Aaron Judge joined an elite group with the first of his two home runs on Wednesday night, crushing a three-run blast to right center for his 50th homer of the season.
That moonshot, which proved to be the difference in the eventual breezy 7-1 win to move into a tie with the Blue Jays atop the AL East, gave Judge the fourth 50-homer campaign of his career, a feat only a very select few in baseball history have ever accomplished.
Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and now Judge are the only sluggers to ever have 50 or more home runs in four or more seasons, with Judge and Ruth being the only two to do so without any PED scrutiny.
The two-time MVP has now eclipsed 50 in two straight years, also doing so in his historic rookie season in 2017, and of course his 62-homer campaign in 2022, when he surpassed Roger Maris for the American League record. He was on pace to hit 50 in 2023 before his toe injury limited him to 106 games. Had that not happened, and he not crashed into the concrete base of the right field wall at Dodger Stadium, and Judge could very well have just cemented a fourth consecutive 50-homer season.
Despite 2023 ending abruptly, Judge’s consistent power is at an obvious all-time level, and Wednesday’s multi-homer game offered another chance to examine the greatness of the Yankee captain.
Now that Judge has reached 50 home runs, he also has a chance to join even rarer company by the end of the season. Only two players in league history have hit 50 home runs while winning a batting title, and Judge could very well be the third. Mickey Mantle did it in his Triple Crown season of 1956, and Jimmie Foxx was the first ever in 1938. Judge, currently batting .328 on the year, has a 13-point lead over Jacob Wilson of the Athletics, putting him in prime position to join Mantle and Foxx.
The MVP race will be rightfully close, as Cal Raleigh reached the 60-homer mark with his own multi-homer game on Wednesday night, but regardless if Judge earns a third MVP or not, he is wrapping up another historic season that will further cement his case as one of the best hitters of all time.