Aaron Judge has recently joined the elite 300-home run club, achieving this milestone on Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. He hit his 300th career home run against Chicago White Sox pitcher Chad Kuhl, marking him as the fastest player in history to reach this feat.
Judge accomplished this in just 955 games, shattering the previous record held by Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, who reached 300 home runs in 1,087 games.
Judge’s achievement is notable not only for the speed with which he reached 300 home runs but also for the number of at-bats it took. He hit his 300th home run in his 3,431st career at-bat, surpassing the previous record set by Babe Ruth, who reached 300 home runs in 3,830 at-bats.
Additionally, Judge joins Mark McGwire as the only player to hit 300 home runs before reaching 1,000 career hits, highlighting his remarkable power and efficiency.
Despite a slower start to the season, Judge is in a strong position to challenge his own American League single-season home run record. His 300th home run was his 43rd of the season, putting him on pace for 57 home runs if current performance levels are maintained.
In comparison, he had hit 46 home runs by this point in the 2022 season when he set the AL record with 62 home runs. His ability to go on hot streaks, such as hitting 14 homers in 24 games earlier this year, suggests he could push for another record-setting season.
Judge’s accomplishments extend beyond his recent milestone. He is only the fourth player in Yankees history to record three seasons with 40 or more home runs, joining Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle.
He is also on track to become the fifth player ever to achieve three 50-home run seasons. With a previous high of 52 home runs in 2017 and a record-setting 62 homers in 2022, Judge needs to hit seven more home runs in the remaining 40 games of the season to join this elite group.
Currently, Judge leads the major leagues in several categories, including batting average (.332), on-base percentage (.466), slugging percentage (.699), and home runs (43). He also leads in RBI (107), extra-base hits (72), and total bases (301).
As the 162nd member of the 300 home run club, Judge’s continued dominance and performance make him a standout player, with other sluggers like Marcell Ozuna, Salvador Perez, and Kyle Schwarber also approaching the 300 home run milestone.
