Judge’s 2024 season has been nothing short of extraordinary. He’s posted career highs across the board
Aaron Judge: A Historic Season in the Making
Friday is “Aaron Judge Football Jersey Night” at Yankee Stadium, where the first 18,000 fans will receive a gridiron-inspired memento celebrating the legendary slugger’s most iconic season. While it might surprise casual fans, Aaron Judge has somehow surpassed even his remarkable 2022 MVP campaign, where he shattered Roger Maris’ American League record with 62 home runs.
2024: A Career-Best Year for Judge
Judge’s 2024 season has been nothing short of extraordinary. He’s posted career highs across the board, boasting a .333 batting average, an on-base percentage of .467, and a slugging percentage of .731. His advanced metrics are equally impressive, and he has already launched 51 home runs in just 132 games. With a month left in the season, Judge has the potential to elevate these numbers even further.
This incredible performance is even more remarkable considering Judge’s slow start to the season. By May 5, he was hitting just .209 with a slugging percentage of .409—disappointing by his standards. However, everything changed when he made a minor adjustment to his stance after hitting a home run off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal that day. Since then, Judge has been on fire.
Dominating Since May
Since May 5, Aaron Judge has been virtually unstoppable. He’s hit an astonishing .381, reaching base in more than half of his plate appearances. His on-base percentage of .513 over his last 97 games is 87 points higher than his nearest rival, Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.
Along the way, Judge made history by becoming the first player in MLB to hit .375 or better with 45 home runs over a 100-game span. Only 11 players have ever achieved similar numbers over an entire season. On August 15, Judge hit his 300th career home run during a 10-2 win over the Chicago White Sox, reaching that milestone in just his 955th career game—the fastest any player has done so.
Reflecting on the accomplishment, Judge said, “It’s a great achievement. Like I said a couple of days ago, I was hoping it would come in a win. It came in a big win for us. We were down for a little bit, couldn’t get much going, so I was just excited it was there in a big moment.”
A Historic OPS+ Season
Judge’s 2024 season is historic, and it’s not just about raw numbers. When we account for factors like the era he’s playing in and Yankee Stadium’s short right-field porch, Judge’s achievements become even more impressive. To make fair comparisons across different eras and ballparks, baseball analysts use a stat called Adjusted OPS+.
OPS+ adjusts for ballpark effects and generational differences, where a league-average OPS+ is set at 100. Judge’s current OPS+ of 229 means he is 129% better than a league-average hitter this season. This stat accounts for any advantage Judge might receive from Yankee Stadium’s hitter-friendly dimensions.
Judge’s 229 OPS+ is not only 19 points higher than his 2022 figure, but it also ranks among the greatest single-season performances in MLB history. Only legends like Josh Gibson, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, and Barry Bonds have produced better single-season OPS+ numbers. Among those, only Bonds has done so this millennium.
Judge’s Elite Company
Judge’s closest competitors in 2024 are the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and his own Yankees teammate, Juan Soto. Soto, who is playing his first season in New York and is a soon-to-be free agent, is second in baseball with an OPS+ of 180. If Soto re-signs with the Yankees, they will continue to be one of the most formidable offensive duos in baseball since, arguably, Ruth and Gehrig.
For those not convinced, consider this: Ruth and Gehrig were the only teammates in MLB history to each post a 180 OPS+ and 35 home runs in the same season—until Judge and Soto did so in the first five months of 2024.
Judge Chase for October Glory
Judge’s accomplishments extend beyond home runs and OPS+. When it comes to Wins Above Replacement (WAR), a stat that measures a player’s value in terms of how many victories they contribute to their team, Judge and Soto are on pace for a combined 21.0 WAR. If they reach that mark, they will be the first teammates to do so since Ruth and Gehrig with the 1927 Yankees.
Of course, the 1927 Yankees won the World Series, which remains the one area where Judge still falls short compared to legends like Ruth and Gehrig. Despite his late start—his rookie year didn’t come until he was 25—Judge’s career statistics already make him a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame. However, for Yankees fans who are used to celebrating championships, Judge’s legacy will ultimately be defined by what he does in October.
As great as his 2024 season has been, the only number Judge is still chasing is the one that matters most: a World Series title.