Aaron Judge joined Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle as the only New York Yankees to belt 50 or more homers in at least two seasons, accomplishing the feat Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
Judge socked his major-league-leading 50th of the year in the eighth inning against Angels right-hander Ryan Tepera. As a rookie in 2017, Judge hit a career-high 52 long balls.
Ruth had four 50-plus-homer seasons for New York, and Mantle reached the 50 mark twice. The only other Yankees to collect at least 50 in a season were Roger Maris, who still holds the American League record with the 61 he hit in 1961, and Alex Rodriguez, who had 54 in 2007.
The only other Yankee to have 50 homers prior to September was Maris, who was at 51 through the end of August 1961.
Judge grounded out and was intentionally walked twice on Monday before going deep in a game the Yankees lost 4-3. He increased his major-league-high RBI total to 110, and he also leads the majors in runs (102), extra-base hits (70) slugging percentage (.661) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (1.057).
Judge also leads the American League in walks (76) and is second in on-base percentage (.396).
–Field Level Media