Yankees' Captain Aaron Judge Hits 300th Career Home Run

The face of the Yankees became the fastest player ever to reach the milestone.

Aug 14, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates in the dugout after he hits his 300th home run during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

All rise... for the 300th time.

With his 43rd home run of the season, New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge became the 162nd member of the 300 home run club, and achieved membership far faster than anyone else has.

The fastest player to join the 300 Home Run Club 👨‍⚖️

Congratulations, @TheJudge44 👏 pic.twitter.com/NTGfqamyKf

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 15, 2024

Prior to Wednesday night's contest against the Chicago White Sox, the four fastest players to hit their 300th home run by games played were Alex Rodriguez (1,117 games), Juan Gonzalez (1,096), Ryan Howard (1,093), and Ralph Kiner (1,087, the former record); Rodriguez, Gonzalez, and Howard each won an MVP award during their careers, while Kiner is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many games did it take for Judge? Just 955. He broke Kiner's record with almost a full season to spare (132 games). He was also the fastest in terms of at-bats, with just 3,431; this was 400 less at-bats than Babe Ruth, the former record-holder with 3,831, and 406 ahead of former home run champion Mark McGwire (3,837). Kiner needed 3,883 at-bats to reach 300 homers.

The 32-year-old has hit no fewer than 27 homers in any full season (2016 and 2020 excluded), hit 52 big flies in his rookie season (setting a rookie record that stood for two years), set the American League single-season record with 62 homers in 2022, and has 181 long balls since 2021.

Judge's milestone homer came in the top of the eighth inning against Chad Kuhl, who had intentionally walked the red-hot Juan Soto before facing arguably the most feared hitter in the sport.

History for The Captain 🫡#AllRise pic.twitter.com/VIIOPh8ngt

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 15, 2024

“It’s a great achievement,” Judge said. “I’ve been in the game a little while now, I guess. We’ve still got a long way to go. I was hoping it would come in a win.”

Fortunately for Judge, his home run was meaningful in a 10-2 rout over the White Sox; the Bronx Bombers scored nine unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with the milestone big fly being a three-run frozen rope that provided an exclamation point on the rally. Austin Wells immediately followed the Yankee captain with a homer of his own to conclude the scoring.

The Yankees are now 72-50 on the season, and sit in first place in the AL East by half a game. Right in the center of it all is Aaron Judge, who is currently crafting a career worthy of Cooperstown.