Aaron Judge continues to add to his growing list of personal milestones—both for himself and for the Yankees. This time, he boldly surpassed a widely recognized legend who also hit 350 career home runs and earned two World Series rings, but who couldn’t reach that milestone nearly as fast as the Yankees slugger.
Reaching 350 home runs typically takes about a decade—and no, winning championships isn’t a requirement. For Judge, it took 10 years to reach the mark, which he accomplished during a recent loss to the Cubs that ended the Yankees’ five-game winning streak.
Reflecting on the milestone and the loss, Judge said: “It would have been great if we got a win today when you do something like that… But I’ve been surrounded by a lot of great teammates, been on some good teams… so it’s really just a shoutout to all the teammates I’ve had over the years.”
Who Did Judge Dethrone?
According to Baseball Reference, Judge surpassed Mark McGwire in the number of games needed to hit 350 home runs. McGwire reached that milestone in 1,280 games. Judge? He did it in just 1,088.
McGwire, the former Athletics and Cardinals slugger, needed a little over 10 years to get there, finally hitting No. 350 between 1986 and 1997. Judge also moved past other legendary hitters, including former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, who took 1,301 games to reach 350 homers, and Albert Pujols, who got there in 1,320 games.
It Hasn’t All Been Easy for Judge
As impressive as his power numbers are, Judge also leads in some less flattering categories. Now 10 years into his MLB career, he’s already struck out 1,316 times—a high number for someone who hasn’t even played a full 10 seasons yet. For comparison, McGwire struck out 1,596 times in 16 seasons, while Rodriguez racked up 2,287 strikeouts over 22 years. At this rate, Judge could surpass both in the next decade.