The New York Yankees don’t have much to offer this year, but Aaron Judge is still making history.
The slugger hit a first-pitch leadoff home run in the fifth inning against the Houston Astros on Friday, raising his season total to 30 and his career total to 250. The Yankees also got a home run from their youngest player in his MLB made their debut and won the game 6:2.
Judge reached the 250-homer threshold in his 810th career game, tying him the fastest player to reach the mark in MLB (AL/NL) history.
The previous record holder was Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies, who hit .250 in 855 games. After Howard, Ralph Kiner (871 games), Harmon Killebrew (905 games) and Albert Pujols (933) complete the new top five.
That’s a strong undertaking for Judge, whose career slugging percentage of .586 leads all active MLB players. It should be noted that the 31-year-old Judge is by no means the youngest player to reach 250 home runs, having made his debut at the relatively ripe old age of 24. Some fans may also note that he benefited from the hitter-friendly outfield fences of the Yankee Stadium.
Aaron Judge hits home runs like no other in MLB history. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
Judge is hitting .265/.392/.622 with 62 runs and 57 RBI this season through Friday, a strong follow-up to an MVP season in which he hit 62 home runs, breaking the American League single-season home run record Roger Maris since 1961. He missed nearly two months earlier this season with a broken toe.