Aaron Judge leaves the door open for at least one more Home Run Derby cameo

Ever since his first full season in 2017, Aaron Judge has been one of, if not the most prolific power hitter in the game. His 287 home runs since the start of the 2017 season lead the majors by a substantial margin, and it feels like Judge has only gotten better as his career has progressed.

We all know about the 62-home run year he had in 2022. He followed that up with 37 more in just 103 games. Now this season, Judge leads the majors with 34 home runs at the All-Star break. He can easily catch and/or surpass his career-high with a big second half.

You'd think that Judge, one of the elite power hitters we've seen in recent memory, would be an annual participant in the event that showcases power, the Home Run Derby. That has not been the case.

Judge won it in 2017, but has not participated since. His omission from the derby feels a lot like star NBA players inexplicably passing on participating in the Slam Dunk Contest. MLB fans want to see Judge back on the big stage. Fortunately, he left the door open to himself participating at least one more time.

Aaron Judge appears to be open to one more Home Run Derby appearance

"It was fun, I had a blast when I did it, but it's time for other people to do it," said Judge. "Have some fun with it, hit some homers. I'll probably do it again down the road at some point."

What would it take for Judge to participate? Does he need to have 40 home runs by the All-Star break? Does it have to be at Yankee Stadium? Whatever MLB has to do to get him to sign the dotted line, they must.

Sometimes players refuse to participate in the Derby because they feel that it can impact their swing for the stretch run. In Judge's case, he had a monster second half in 2017 power-wise, launching 22 home runs, but his batting average dipped exponentially.

It's pretty disappointing that Judge hasn't participated since his rookie year despite being the elite power hitter that he is. You'd think MLB's leading home run hitter would want to participate, but Judge is not up for it right now.

Hopefully Judge will follow through on this while he's hitting home runs at a ridiculous clip as he has this season. The Home Run Derby should feature the best power hitters all going up against each other. Every year Judge chooses to pass on the event is another year in which the Derby doesn't live up to its full potential.