Juan Soto’s latest milestone highlights shocking Aaron Judge comparison

New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto just recorded hit No. 1,000 at the MLB level, by lining a single to right field against Spencer Strider. Any player reaching the 1,000-hit plateau is impressive, but Soto did so as a 26-year-old. Recording that many hits at an age so young is unheard of. Soto reaching the 1,000-hit plateau as a 26-year-old puts former New York Yankees teammate Aaron Judge to shame in one regard.

You read that right. Soto has 1,000 hits as a 26-year-old, and Judge, the player unanimously known as the best hitter on the planet currently, had 284 hits at that age. Soto blows him out of the water completely.

As impressive as this feat is for Soto, context in regard to what he's done compared to Judge does matter.

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Context matters in any Juan Soto vs. Aaron Judge comparison

Soto blows Judge out of the water when looking at accomplishments at 26 years of age, but when looking at games played, it's a different story. Soto recorded his 1,000th hit in game No. 1,010. Judge recorded his 1,000th hit last season as a 32-year-old but in his 965th career game. Soto accomplished this feat at a younger age, but Judge did it in fewer MLB games.

Which is more impressive? Well, that can be debated. Soto was so good at such a young age to the point where he was promoted to the majors for the first time as a 19-year-old. Judge has been so good at the MLB level, though, that he needed fewer games to reach this impressive milestone than Soto did.

Being one of the youngest to reach 1,000 hits is impressive, but so is getting to that mark faster than one of the youngest to achieve that goal. When comparing the two greats, a full look at context is important.

Juan Soto will always have a clear advantage over Aaron Judge

While context matters, it'd be foolish to just overlook what Soto was able to accomplish. He's put up numbers that few, if any, have matched at such a young age.

Meanwhile, Judge didn't make his MLB debut until he turned 24 years old. In Soto's age-24 season, he made his third All-Star team, won his fourth Silver Slugger award, and received MVP votes for the fourth time.

With all of this in mind, Soto has a chance to catch or even eclipse Judge's career marks when all is said and done. Judge might be the better player right now, and Soto might never reach Judge's peak, but the fact that he came up at such a young age, especially compared to Judge, gives him a chance to eclipse many of Judge's overall counting stats.

It'll be interesting to see how these two future Hall of Famers stack up when all is said and done.