Aaron Judge's Stellar Season Continues to Turn Heads
As the season enters its final stretch, Aaron Judge's remarkable performance has captured the attention of the baseball world. The captain of the New York Yankees is not only leading his team but setting new standards across the league.
Judge boasts an incredible .333/.465/.736 batting line accompanied by 51 home runs and 122 RBIs as of August 26. His dominance is reflected in the league leaderboards where he tops the charts in home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and Wins Above Replacement (WAR). With 31 games still remaining in the season, Judge’s numbers are expected to grow even more impressive.
Judge's offensive surge has earned him comparisons with some of the game's historical greats. His trajectory projects him to achieve 101 extra-base hits and 418 total bases this season, feats accomplished only 13 times in the history of Major League Baseball. To put it in perspective, only 15 players have ever recorded 100 extra-base hits in a season, and just 29 have reached 400 total bases.
The power in Judge’s bat has been on full display recently. He has homered seven times in his last six games and 19 times in his last 36 games. If he continues at this pace, Judge is poised to finish with 63 home runs for the season. For comparison, he hit 52 home runs during his rookie season in 2017 and managed 62 in the 2022 season.
Despite his power output, it is crucial to note that Judge is more than just a home run hitter. His .250 batting average and .413 on-base percentage in at-bats that don’t culminate in home runs underscore his overall offensive capabilities. Judge himself emphasizes a balanced approach: "I got to this point trying to be a good hitter and a good teammate, so that’s what I’m going to try to do. I feel like if I can do that, we can look up at the end of the year, and I think the numbers will be where they’re supposed to be."
The impact Judge has had since late April is particularly noteworthy. Struggling with a .174/.308/.337 line by April 23, he transformed his season with an OPS of 1.328 over the next 106 games. His strikeout rate this season sits at 23.4%, slightly above the MLB average of 22.4%, but it remains a significant improvement from his 30.7% strikeout rate in 2017 and 25.1% in 2022.
When comparing Judge's current season to historical seasons, the gap narrows further. In 1924, Rogers Hornsby posted a 222 OPS+, a mark that serves as a historical reference point. Only Jimmie Foxx and Rogers Hornsby have recorded two seasons with an OPS+ over 200, a club Judge joined with his 210 OPS+ performance in 2022.
His manager, Aaron Boone, succinctly captures the essence of Judge’s season: “I'm kinda running out of words to say. You're witnessing greatness. You really are. He's just kinda better than everyone.” Indeed, for this Yankees captain, the sky seems to be the limit.
Judge's contributions go beyond individual statistics; his leadership and team-oriented mindset have been crucial to the Yankees. Having the platoon advantage in just 26% of his plate appearances, his performance against all types of pitchers has been both consistent and formidable.
Aaron Judge is not just meeting expectations; he is redefining them. As he moves closer to the end of the season, one can only anticipate what other milestones he will surpass and the new benchmarks he will set.