Yankees' Slugger Aaron Judge Makes History Yet Again

The Yankee captain joined a group of prestigious sluggers with his latest feat.

Aug 23, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates his solo home run with teammates during the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Judge has done it again.

When the New York Yankees' captain took Colorado Rockies southpaw Austin Gomber deep in the first inning on Sunday, Judge secured his third season of 50 home runs or more. In the process, he joined a club that had only four members before his arrival.

Aaron Judge just hit his 50th home run of the season. It is still August. pic.twitter.com/MmRCntoDOf

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 25, 2024

Before Judge, only four players in MLB history had three seasons with 50 or more home runs; those players were Babe Ruth (1920, 1921, 1927, and 1928), Mark McGwire (1996-1999), Sammy Sosa (1998-2001) and Alex Rodriguez (2001, 2002, and 2007). The 32-year-old outfielder is the only one who has done it in his first nine seasons.

Prior to the 2024 season, Judge had a pair of campaigns with 50+ homers. The first was 2017, when he broke McGwire's rookie record with 52 home runs (this would be surpassed by Pete Alonso two seasons later). The second, of course, was his famous 2022 season, which saw Judge break the franchise and American League single-season record (both held by Roger Maris) with 62 big flies; incredibly, Judge is on pace to match or even surpass that total.

Even crazier is that Judge feels like he's not in a groove.

“I’m trying to get locked in. Once we get locked in, I’ll let you guys know,” Judge said after Friday's game.

Judge said this despite having a ridiculous .384/.511/.857 slash line, 43 home runs, 101 RBI, and a 268 wRC+ from May 4 to August 23. If that's not "locked in", then what is?