True greatness isn’t something we see all the time in baseball. When we do, we have to take the time to appreciate it.
It’s becoming difficult to find ways to accurately describe the unreal season that Aaron Judge is having for the Yankees. The Yankees’ captain entered Monday slashing an incredible .333/.465/.736 with 51 homers and 122 RBI. And the calendar hasn’t yet turned to September.
After another two-homer game Sunday — which gave him 51 home runs on the season, 10 more than anyone else in MLB — it’s time to start talking about Judge in a different way.
Pick a current or future Hall of Famer — Frank Thomas in the mid-’90s, Albert Pujols in the 2000s or, most recently, Miguel Cabrera in the 2010s — and Judge has put himself in the conversation of the greatest hitters in baseball over the past 50 years. Such comparisons for Judge are no longer hyperbolic, as his ridiculous numbers offer few equals among his peers.
We love player comps in baseball. But we have to be careful when it comes to making comparisons for Judge. First, out of fairness to him, because he’s carving out his own lane in the sport today. And second, because the comp for him is one that is often unrealistic for others.
When you mention Barry Bonds in the same sentence as another player, you better have a damn good argument for doing so. But with Judge having recorded multiple seasons as a top-three player in the sport, with three 50-homer seasons and the sheer damage, production and presence that he brings, he’s easily the closest thing we’ve seen to Bonds since the Giants slugger last played in 2007.
For two decades, Bonds was the most dangerous hitter in baseball. Pitchers couldn’t pitch to him, getting him out in the strike zone was nearly impossible, and each at-bat became must-see TV. The Yankees’ superstar checks all three of those boxes. He is the most dangerous hitter in baseball, he is imposing in the batter’s box, and this September, just like two years ago, we can expect to see live cut-ins of his at-bats as he chases his own history.
This weekend, Judge reached the 50-homer mark for the third time in his nine MLB seasons, joining Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez and Bonds as the only players to accomplish that feat. If not for a nagging toe injury that forced him to play in just 103 games in 2023, he likely would’ve reached the mark last season as well. And, it must be noted, Judge being the only one of those players besides Ruth not linked to steroids makes his accomplishments stand out even more.
Just two weeks ago, Judge became the fastest MLB player to reach 300 home runs, passing Tigers legend and yet another Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. In four years, it’s not hard to imagine that we’ll be talking about Judge being the fastest player to reach 500 home runs, too.
When he came into the league, Judge’s ceiling was that of a slugger who, if healthy, could hit 40 homers annually. But he has developed lightyears beyond those projections, transforming into MLB’s best hitter.
After starting this season slowly, Judge is having one of the best stretches in the history of baseball. Over his past 103 games, he’s hitting .377/.506/.844 with 47 homers — an MVP season for most players. And not only has he gotten hot this summer, but he has actually improved significantly from his MVP season in 2021. He has cut down his strikeout rate and increased his walk rate while producing the same prodigious power that he displayed on his way to breaking Roger Maris’ AL single-season home run record.
Sure, it’s nice to hit behind Juan Soto, but to pretend that Judge hasn’t transformed himself into one of the best players of this generation with his most monstrous season yet — one that will end with his second AL MVP — would be irresponsible.
And so, if the only numbers left to compare Judge’s to are those of the best players in baseball history, then it’s time we stop comparing him to his peers. And it’s time we raise his bar a little higher. If he has started to put himself on the path to Cooperstown — and he certainly has — then it doesn’t feel incorrect to be talking about him in that way.
While the nine-year, $360 million deal Judge signed with the Yankees in 2022 remains the most lucrative in franchise history, it might become one of the better bargains in MLB history as Judge reaches the peak of his powers.
So sit back and enjoy the greatness. Because seasons like the one Judge is having don’t come around very often.
