Aaron Judge Hits 50th and 51st Home Runs of the Season, Sets Sights on 60

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has made history once again, hitting his 50th and 51st home runs of the season on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies. The 32-year-old veteran has reached the 50-home-run mark for the third time in his career, with his previous two instances coming in 2017 and 2022.

Judge’s impressive performance on Sunday was marked by a 0-2 slider from pitcher Austin Gomber in the first inning, which he launched to center field to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. He added his 51st home run in the seventh inning as part of three consecutive homers from Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton off Rockies reliever Jeff Criswell.

Judge’s 2024 season has set him up to be the favorite for his second AL MVP award and potentially MLB’s first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and only the second since 1967. He currently leads all players in home runs (51) and RBI (122) and is second in batting average (.334). Only Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals (.347) is keeping Judge from leading MLB in all three categories.

With 32 games to play in the regular season, Judge is primed to hit 60 home runs for the second time in his career. He already joined Babe Ruth and Roger Maris by reaching the 60-homer mark in a single season, but should he do it again, he would be the first Yankee to hit that many homers in multiple seasons.

Earlier this month, Judge became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs when he hit the milestone in 954 games. He also surpassed Yankees legend Babe Ruth by getting to 300 homers in 3,428 career at-bats, reaching the number in 3,830 at-bats.

Judge’s impressive season has cemented his status as one of the greatest players in the game, and fans are eagerly awaiting what he will accomplish in the remaining games of the season.