Aaron Judge Matches A Few Legends With 30th Home Run
After a few days stuck at 29 home runs, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge finally hit his 30th on Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
His grand slam helped the Bombers beat the Pirates, 16-0.
With this, he became the first major leaguer to reach 30 blasts in 2022.
Hitting 30 home runs over a single season has also been considered a cool milestone, but doing it in the first half alone is really something to behold.
For Judge, is nothing out of the ordinary: he did it for the second time in his career.
The first one was that magical 2017 season in which he won the American League Rookie of the Year and came this close to taking home the MVP, too.
He ended up with 52 round-trippers that year.
Judge still has three series left to play in the first half, before the All-Star break: two against the Boston Red Sox and one against the Cincinnati Reds.
He Is Close To Breaking A Franchise Record
The Yankees’ franchise record is 33, achieved by Roger Maris in that incredible 1961 season in which he set the single-season record of 61 home runs, later broken by Mark McGwire in 1998.
McGwire is, precisely, the slugger with the most multiple 30-homer seasons before the break, per MLB statistician Sarah Langs.
“Most 30+ HR first halves, since 1st ASG (1933): Mark McGwire: 4; Ken Griffey Jr.: 3; Aaron Judge: 2; Barry Bonds: 2; Sammy Sosa: 2; Willie Stargell: 2,” she said.
Most 30+ HR first halves, since 1st ASG (1933):
Mark McGwire: 4
Ken Griffey Jr.: 3
Aaron Judge: 2
Barry Bonds: 2
Sammy Sosa: 2
Willie Stargell: 2 https://t.co/BBiWFHYZPd— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 7, 2022
Judge stands a very good chance of breaking Maris’ record of 33 first-half home runs, which would put him first in franchise history.
Does he have what it takes to establish the new Yankees’ single-season home run record?
He needs 32 more, so it’s no easy task.
If anyone can do it, however, is prime Judge.