New York Yankees' Aaron Judge Matches Ken Griffey Jr. in MLB History Books

Aaron Judge is up to 56 home runs and 10 stolen bases this season, marking the second time in his career that the New York Yankees slugger has reached those historic milestones.

Sep 24, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates while running the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Just as Shohei Ohtani seemed to be closing the gap atop MLB's home run leaderboard, Aaron Judge turned on the jets.

The New York Yankees slugger entered last weekend with just two home runs in his previous 23 games. Judge then homered in each of the final two contests against the Oakland Athletics, and he stayed hot against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Judge got the Yankees on the board with a 407-foot solo home run to left-center. It marked his third game in a row with a home run, bringing him up to 56 on the season.

Judge finished the night 1-for-3 with a walk, all while New York lost 5-3. With five games left in the season, Judge is batting .323 with 56 home runs, 139 RBI, 130 walks, 10 stolen bases, an 1.158 OPS and a 10.4 WAR.

According to Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, Judge is now one of two players in MLB history to post multiple seasons with at least 55 home runs and 10 stolen bases. He previously reached those numbers in 2022, when he hit 62 home runs and stole 16 bases.

Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. was the only player to post multiple 55-homer, 10-stolen base seasons prior to Judge, doing so with the Seattle Mariners in 1997 and 1998.

Aaron Judge (2022, 2024) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1997-98) are the only players in MLB history to have multiple seasons featuring 55+ HR and 10+ SB.

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) September 25, 2024

Griffey won AL MVP in 1997, but finished fourth in 1998. Judge, on the other hand, won AL MVP in 2022 and is considered the runaway favorite to win the award again here in 2024.

Judge leads all of MLB in home runs, RBI, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and WAR.

Ohtani, the presumptive favorite to win NL MVP, ranks second with 53 homers and 123 RBI. As of last Saturday morning, Ohtani was only one home run behind Judge, but that gap is now up to three.

Judge and the Yankees will face the Orioles again Wednesday night, needing one win to secure the AL East crown. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.

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