Aaron Judge has reached another historic milestone, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball history to record at least 30 home runs and 110 hits before the month of July.
The Yankees slugger achieved the feat after hitting his 29th and 30th home runs during a 12–5 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday at Yankee Stadium. According to OptaSTATS, no player had ever reached those numbers this early in a season.
Judge, a two-time MVP and six-time All-Star, is in the midst of one of his most dominant seasons yet. Through 84 games, he leads the American League in several key categories, including a .354 batting average, a .458 on-base percentage, a .717 slugging percentage, and a 1.175 OPS. He has also tallied 73 runs, 58 walks, and 110 hits.
The 33-year-old outfielder is currently on pace to surpass 60 home runs for the second time in his career. He fell just shy last year with 58. Judge is also projected to drive in more than 120 runs this season — something he’s already done twice in the past four years.
While Judge is familiar with leading the league in home runs — having done so three times — he’s now in position to possibly claim his first batting title. He currently tops all qualified hitters in batting average, with Oakland rookie Jacob Wilson trailing behind at .339.
Though Judge is having another MVP-caliber season, the race for the American League home run title is tight. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh currently leads the league with 33 home runs, just ahead of Judge’s 30, making the contest for top slugger one to watch in the second half of the season.
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