Is New York Yankees Superstar Already a Hall of Famer?

Has New York Yankees star Aaron Judge already clinched a plaque in Cooperstown?

Aug 26, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge looks out from the dugout. / Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Judge didn't hit a home run on Thursday, but that's only because the New York Yankees didn't have a game scheduled.

At age 32, Judge has already established himself as one of the greatest home run hitters ever. He's also having one of the best offensive seasons of all time.

Entering play on Friday, Judge is batting .333/.467/.731 with 51 homers, 123 RBI, 110 walks, 342 total bases and 9.8 WAR. If he keeps it up, he has a chance to break his own AL single-season home run record of 62 from two years ago.

Even if Judge cools off, he's still a lock to earn his second AL MVP award, which he'll likely win unanimously. He also has six All-Star selections, three Silver Sluggers and an AL Rookie of the Year award. The only hardware he's missing (besides a Gold Glove) is a World Series ring.

With Judge wrapping up another Babe Ruth-esque campaign, it's fair to wonder if the towering slugger has already earned a place in Cooperstown.

Aaron Judge has already fulfilled 4/8 metrics for predicting hall of fame likely hood. With 8 years left in his career he should easily bolster his Hall of Fame Resume. His average WAR of 8.5 for 162 Games is most incredible to me. pic.twitter.com/VPcB8V2gM1

— Chrissy (@cglshark99) August 25, 2024

The short answer is...not quite yet. Candidates must play for at least 10 seasons (and be retired for five) to be eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and Judge has only played nine seasons so far.

That means all he has to do is step on the field at some point over the next seven years of his contract, which runs through 2031. Even if he only appears in one game, he'll have his eligibility requirement taken care of.

Once he does that, he shouldn't face too much resistance on the path to Cooperstown. While injuries and Covid have greatly limited his playing time, he still managed to have a massive impact on the sport when he did play. He set the rookie home run record, smashed the AL home run record and became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 300 homers, topping 50 dingers three times along the way.

If Judge was suddenly forced into retirement, his career would be regarded as the hitting equivalent of Sandy Koufax's -- short, but undeniably brilliant.

Judge's career totals may be lacking at the moment, but he still has plenty of time to add to them. He hasn't even played his 1,000th game yet.

No matter what happens from this point forward, Judge has already cemented his legacy as an all-time great. He can start writing his induction speech now, because it's only a matter of time.