Yankees' Aaron Judge Stuck in Mysterious Home Run Drought

Despite another historic season for Aaron Judge, he's currently facing a unusual home run drought.

Sep 9, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) reacts after striking out during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Despite Aaron Judge having yet another historic season for the New York Yankees in 2024, he's currently facing an unusual slump.

After the Yankees' 4-3, 11-inning win over the Kansas City Royals, Judge has now gone homerless in 15 straight games, the longest stretch of his career.

Although the 32-year-old slugger leads Major League Baseball with 51 home runs, the last time Judge went yard was on August 25 against the Colorado Rockies, when he slugged two homers.

Judge spoke to reporters yesterday before New York's game and still expressed confidence that he'll get going on offense.

"It's just baseball," Judge said. "I'm feeling fine and the results will be there."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone is also not concerned about Judge's homer drought.

"It’s just hitting," Boone said. "It’s another historic season he’s putting together. We saw in April and now the last couple of weeks where he’s not dominating like his usual self. I’m confident he’ll get rolling."

This isn't the first time this season that Judge was in an offensive slump; in his first 27 games of the year, Judge only had four home runs and batted just .178 with a .623 OPS in 123 plate appearances.

However, many saw after that difficult start to Judge's season, he found his groove. After hitting a home run on April 27 against the Milwaukee Brewers, it began a 102-game stretch during which Judge hit 47 home runs and immediately started putting himself in the MVP conversation, eventually becoming the favorite to win his second MVP award in three seasons.

The Yankees hope that Judge can get that offensive groove back for their last 16 regular season games. The Bronx Bombers remain just a game and a half ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East as they begin a four-game series on Thursday against the Boston Red Sox.