New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge of Linden, California continues to reach impressive milestones in his career. On Thursday, he set the Major League Baseball record for the fewest games in a career to hit 300 home runs. In a dominant 10-2 Yankees win over the Chicago White Sox, Judge hit his 30th home run in his 955th game.
Who had the old record?
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Ralph Kiner of Santa Rita, New Mexico had the old record in 1087 games. He had his 300th home run in a 6-3 Pirates loss to the New York Giants on May 25, 1953. Interestingly, Kiner hit 301 home runs with the Pirates (same number of home runs that Judge has now with the Yankees) in 1095 games before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in a blockbuster deal that involved 10 players and $150,000 in cash on June 4, 1953.
How did Judge hit his 300th home run?
Judge’s 300th home run came in the eighth inning on Thursday. It was part of a six-run Yankees inning. Judge’s home run was 361 feet, and a three-run dinger which also scored outfielders Alex Verdugo of Tucson, Arizona and Juan Soto of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. At the time, the Yankees went up 9-2.
Judge’s 301st home run
Judge then hit his 301st home run in the eighth inning on Friday night in a 3-0 Yankees win over the Detroit Tigers. It was a 431 foot dinger which closed out the scoring.
Judge’s 2024 statistics
Judge is once again putting together an American League Most Valuable Player caliber season. He leads the Major Leagues with 44 home runs, 111 runs batted in, a .466 on base percentage, .709 slugging percentage, and 305 total bases. Judge also has scored 96 runs, and has 143 hits, 28 doubles, one triple, six stolen bases, 102 walks, two sacrifice bunts, and a .333 batting average. The sacrifice flies came in a 4-3 Yankees win over the Houston Astros on March 31, and in an 8-0 Yankees win over the San Diego Padres on May 24. The triple came in a 9-5 Yankees win over the Minnesota Twins on June 5.
Leading the American League East
The Yankees lead the American League East with a record of 73 wins and 50 losses. They have a one game lead over the Baltimore Orioles.
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