Aaron Judge becomes fastest player in MLB history to 300 home runs

There has arguably been no better power hitter in baseball in recent years than Aaron Judge. New York’s superstar has been mashing since being called up to the Majors. On Monday, he was able to deliver his 300th career home run, the 161st player in MLB history to do so.

Judge sent a three-run shot over the left-field fence against the Chicago White Sox, who intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to him. It gave the Yankees a 9-2 lead, and it put him in the history books.

Judge made even more history with the pace at which he hit the home runs. He is the fastest to ever get 300 homers in 955 games. Ralph Kiner, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs just after World War II, previously held the record 1,087.

🚨 NO. 3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ FOR AARON JUDGE 🚨 pic.twitter.com/8r8q5rj5vE

— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2024

Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies was in third place at 1,093 games.

Of course, everyone remembers the 2022 season Judge put together, breaking the American League home run record. ESPN would even cut into coverage of college football to show his at-bats in the race to beat Roger Meris. Judge got the job done in Texas on the penultimate game of the regular season, crushing No. 62 to left field.

Back to this season, Aaron Judge currently owns two-thirds of the American League triple crown, leading all of baseball in home runs and RBIs. This was bomb No. 43 and RBI No. 110 for the outfielder. While he does have the most walks on the year, nearing 100, hitting behind Juan Soto has seen more teams having to pitch to Judge because first base was not open.

For comparison, the on-base percentage and slugging percentage are both higher compared to 2022, having an OPS of 1.160 entering Wednesday night.

Elsewhere, 2017 was the only other season where Judge hit 50+ home runs. He is certainly on pace to do so in 2024 as the Yankees are in a division race with the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.