Just over a year ago, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge was getting booed at Yankee Stadium. Judge’s bobblehead day did not result in a bobblehead-worthy performance — the Yankees captain struck out four times in four at-bats to record the 10th golden sombrero of his career.
At the time, Judge was batting just .179 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. His 27 strikeouts in 78 at-bats were tied for second-most in the American League through 21 games. By May, he had fallen into one of the worst slumps of his career. Judge eventually turned his season around and went on to win his second AL Most Valuable Player award while guiding New York to the World Series.
This season, Judge didn’t waste any time before hitting his stride. He joined Mickey Mantle (1956) and Lou Gehrig (1927) as the only Yankees with at least nine home runs and a .400 or better batting average through 30 games. In May, he’s drawing comparisons to Mantle himself.
Aaron Judge’s historic start has drawn comparisons to Mickey Mantle
Judge has slashed .412/.503/.722/1.275 through 36 games. He held a 255 Weighted Runs Created+ (wRC+) before Tuesday and currently leads the majors in hits, total bases, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and WAR. He also leads the American League in runs and RBIs.
Judge’s batting average will surely drop at some point, but he’s still made a .350 batting average with 50 home runs a realistic possibility. The only other player to accomplish that feat since the sport was integrated was Mantle, who hit .353 with 52 home runs in 1956.
During New York’s 12-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, the 33-year-old cracked a 34-1 foot blast to right field for his 12th home run of the season. The home run brought him back into a tie for most this season with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and the Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber.
Mark McGwire (199) and Sammy Sosa (175) are the only two right-handed hitters in the last century to hit more home runs over a 450-game span as Judge (168), per The Athletic’s Jayson Stark.
Judge also joined Mantle, Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams as the only players with a .400 average, .500 OBP and 10 home runs in one calendar month. Stark also noted that the Judge’s 50 hits in March and April were more than the 49 hits by Jose Altuve and Mookie Betts combined. The Yankees star reached base 73 times before May, more than any active player has reached in a single calendar month except for Juan Soto, who reached 74 bases from September to October in 2021.
Judge hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down just yet, and he’s led the Bronx Bombers to an early AL East lead with a 20-16 record.