Aaron Judge became the fastest player to enter the 300-home run club with a home run in the eighth inning on Wednesday night.
Judge hit his 300th home run in his 955th Major League Baseball game. The previous record belonged to Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, who did it in 1,087 games.
The New York Yankees star also hit his 300th career home run in 3,428 at-bats, surpassing the record set by fellow Yankee Babe Ruth, who achieved the feat nearly 100 years ago in 3,830 at-bats.
Judge hit his historic home run against Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Chad Kuhl, who had intentionally walked Juan Soto in the previous at-bat.
Soto has hit four home runs in the last two days, but in hindsight, it doesn’t seem wise to give Judge a chance when there are multiple runners on base.
Aaron Judge was the fastest player to hit 300 home runs in Major League Baseball history
Judge reached the mark at an incredible pace, beating some of the sport’s greats
Two years ago, Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs in the regular season, with Wednesday night’s home run being his 43rd. Judge is on pace to hit 57 home runs this season.
After an injury-plagued 2023, Judge is once again the favorite to be named the American League’s Most Valuable Player.
Although Judge hit his 300th home run at an incredible pace, he turned 32 in April, leaving little time left in his prime.
Judge will have to be among baseball’s top players for several more seasons to become one of the players with the most home runs of all time.
Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in one season at age 37, while Albert Pujols hit his 700th home run at age 41.
As Judge was being interviewed after the game, Yankees fans at Guaranteed Rate Field chanted “MVP!”
“I was hoping it would be a win. We were behind early in the game. Other than that home run by Soto, we didn’t get much done early in the game,” Judge said.
Judge was doused with water after the victory over the White Sox because of his home run
“I was angry about the intentional walk. That kind of fueled it,” Judge added. “…It keeps you trapped.”
Judge is likely a Yankee player, which means the next home run hunt in baseball could lead right through the Bronx.
Judge is now one of 13 active players to have hit at least 300 home runs in their career.
His New York teammates Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo are ahead of Judge on this list, with Rizzo having 303 home runs and Stanton leading all active players with 422 home runs.
Judge is the seventh player to hit 300 home runs in a Yankee jersey.
The other six: Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Alex Rodriguez.
The Yankees defeated the White Sox 10-2.
