Aaron Judge is having one of the most incredible and historic seasons in baseball history and, in all honesty, there are probably not enough people talking about this. Let's take a look at Aaron Judge's numbers and put what he is doing in perspective. But before we dive into the numbers that Aaron Judge is putting up, let's take a step back and examine how the season began.
From the beginning of the season through April 26th, Judge was struggling. He had 4 home runs and had batting splits of .178/.317/.356. And since he had an injury that hampered the 2023 season, fans of the Yankees were starting to have some concerns about Judge and his 9-year-$360 million dollar deal after his 2022 MVP season. Well, then things began to turn around pretty drastically.
Since April 27th, he's batting .380 (yes, you read that right). But wait, there's more. He also happens to have a .507 OBP and a slugging of .829. If those numbers aren't ridiculous enough for you, he also has hit 43 home runs and has 104 RBIs in that span. These are peak numbers Barry Bonds might be jealous of.
Aaron Judge since May 4: 91G, 266 wRC+
— Barry (Aaron Judge enjoyer) (@YanksBar) August 22, 2024
Best 91 game offensive stretch by Barry Bonds in…
2001: 237 wRC+ (6/24 - 20/6)
2002: 245 wRC+ (5/4 - 9/1)
2003: 229 wRC+ (5/14 - 9/20)
2004: 243 wRC+ (6/3 - 9/26)
Aaron Judge gets the rest of the night off as Trent Grisham takes over in CF. Here's where Judge ranks...
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) August 22, 2024
BA .334 (2nd in MLB)
HR 47 (leads MLB)
RBI 117 (leads MLB)
OBP .465 (leads MLB)
SLG .722 (leads MLB)
XBH 78 (leads MLB)
TB 322 (leads MLB)
Let's discuss a stat called OPS+ and how it relates to Judge. If a player's OPS+ is exactly 100, that's an average in the MLB. Judge's OPS+ number this season is 226. To put that in perspective, there have been only three players in MLB history to have a higher OPS+ in a single season. Those three players are: Barry Bonds, Ted Williams and Babe Ruth. The numbers are hard to achieve in video games.
Aaron Judge is now having the 10th greatest season by OPS+ in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/TkojSe0frn
— . (@HalToHell) August 22, 2024
It would be very easy for me to go on and on about how great Aaron Judge has been this season. But part of me does feel weird that baseball hasn't been on top of the news for the ordinary fan this year. A season like this for Judge especially while playing for the Yankees back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, would have been the number one news story in sports all summer long.