Yankees' Aaron Judge enters Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle territory in loss to Reds

07/03/2024 08:54 AM

The New York Yankees may have suffered a 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, but that didn’t stop Aaron Judge from continuing to hit the cover off the baseball. Judge went 3-4 on the night, scoring two runs and hitting his league-leading 32nd home run of the season along the way.

With this game in the books, Judge’s statline for the season looks like something out of a video game (.321 BA, 32 HR, 83 RBI, 1.158 OPS). And while New York may not have won this game, Judge’s latest dinger put him in a group with three Yankees legends, as he joined Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Mickey Mantle as the only players in the franchise’s storied history to hit at least 32 home runs through their first 87 games.

Via Bob Nightengale:

“Aaron Judge is just the 4th Yankee to hit 32 homers through the Yankees’ first 87 games in a season, joining Babe Ruth (36 HRs in 1921, 1928; 33 HRs in 1930), Roger Maris (35 HRs in 1961) and Mickey Mantle (32 HRs in 1961).”

Aaron Judge is mashing at a historic rate

There’s no beating around the bush; Judge has been the best hitter on the planet once again this season. After his historic 2022 campaign (.311 BA, 62 HR, 131 RBI, 1.111 OPS), many folks figured that was about as good as Judge could play. Instead, he’s putting together virtually the same numbers this season, and in some cases, he’s been better than he was two years ago.

Assuming he can keep up this pace, Judge will silence his haters in a huge way. He set the American League home run record back in 2022, and he could conceivably break his own record if this keeps up. To put it into perspective just how crazy this is, Judge’s 2022 campaign was widely regarded as one of the greatest seasons of hitting we have seen in the modern era of the MLB. And now, he appears intent on duplicating that feat.

Judge’s success at the plate has resulted in a lot of success on the field for the Yankees, as they have a 54-33 record. However, they currently find themselves sitting a game behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East standings, and it appears as if that’s going to be a tight race throughout the entire summer.

If Judge can keep on producing at this ridiculous level, though, New York will be in a really good spot to not only win the division, but also go on a deep playoff run. The ultimate goal is to win the World Series, but Judge’s heroics at the plate are a compelling storyline. And assuming his homers keep coming in bunches, he will only join more exclusive clubs with legends like Ruth and Mantle.

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