All rise!
Aaron Judge has made history once again by becoming the fastest player to hit 300 home runs in Major League Baseball (MLB). Just a day after celebrating the eighth anniversary of his first career homer, the New York Yankees’ star slugger achieved this remarkable milestone on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox. He accomplished this feat in only 955 games, surpassing the previous record held by Ralph Kiner by a significant margin of 132 games.
To put this achievement into perspective, here are the five players who reached 300 home runs in the fewest games:
1. Aaron Judge – 955 games
2. Ralph Kiner – 1,087 games
3. Ryan Howard – 1,093 games
4. Juan Gonzalez – 1,096 games
5. Alex Rodriguez – 1,117 games
This latest record is just one of many achievements for Judge, who previously set the American League record for home runs in a single season with 62 in 2022. His remarkable consistency and power at the plate continue to impress fans and analysts alike.
Here are some other standout statistics from Aaron Judge’s extraordinary career:
1: In 2017, Aaron Judge became the first rookie in MLB history to achieve 45 homers, 100 RBI, and 100 runs scored.
4: This season, he is on track for 57 homers. Only legends like Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa have reached that figure multiple times in MLB history, with Ruth being the only player to do so in the American League.
5: Judge’s impressive 217 wRC+ positions him to become only the fifth player in the American League since 1901 to record multiple seasons with a wRC+ of 200 or higher, joining the ranks of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Ty Cobb.
11: In 2022, Judge had 11 games with multiple home runs, tying him with Hank Greenberg and Sammy Sosa for the most in a single MLB season.
11.46: Judge has a career rate of hitting a home run every 11.46 at-bats, with only Mark McGwire hitting a homer more frequently at one every 10.61 at-bats.
28: Since his debut in 2016, Judge has recorded 28 home runs that traveled 450 feet or more, the highest total among all players during that timeframe.
31: After winning the MVP award in 2022, he became the 31st player in MLB history to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP honors during his career.
33: In 2022, Judge set a franchise record for the most home runs at home in a season with 33, surpassing the previous record held by many Yankees greats.
34: This season, he also set a Yankees record for the most home runs hit before the All-Star break with 34, breaking the previous record of 33 established by Roger Maris.
52: During his rookie season, Judge hit 52 home runs, breaking Joe DiMaggio’s franchise record of 29 and establishing the AL single-season record for rookies.
62: In 2022, Judge set the American League record for the most home runs in a single season with 62.
63: Since his first full MLB season in 2017, Judge leads all players with 63 home runs hit in the first inning.
217: His current wRC+ of 217 ties him with Mickey Mantle for the fifth-highest since World War II, trailing only Barry Bonds in 2002, 2001, and 2004, and Ted Williams in 1957.
Looking ahead, here are the players who reached both 400 and 500 home runs in the fewest games:
Fewest Games To 400 HR:
1. Mark McGwire – 1,412 games
2. Babe Ruth – 1,475 games
3. Alex Rodriguez – 1,489 games
4. Giancarlo Stanton – 1,520 games
5. Albert Pujols – 1,523 games
Fewest Games to 500 HR:
1. Mark McGwire – 1,639 games
2. Babe Ruth – 1,741 games
3. Alex Rodriguez – 1,855 games
4. Sammy Sosa – 1,879 games
5. Harmon Killebrew – 1,955 games
