Aaron Judge is putting up numbers that recall the towering dominance of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig—and he’s doing it nightly, with clinical, relentless precision. On Wednesday in Kansas City, Judge blasted his 25th home run of the season, a 413-foot missile with two strikes that helped lift the New York Yankees to a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.
That swing, coming with two strikes, marked his fifth two-strike homer of the season and showcased the terrifying completeness of his approach. Judge has now gone deep in three straight games for the 16th time in his career, tying a personal milestone he last reached in late September. The Yankees’ win over the Royals was another testament to their slugger’s scorching form—and his growing presence in the game’s historical dialogue.
In a season where even routine ground balls by Judge seem rare, his teammates are starting to run out of ways to describe the show. “Every time he goes up there, he’s ready to do damage,” said starter Clarke Schmidt, according to MLB.com. “It’s crazy impressive what he’s able to do.”
Numbers that belong in Cooperstown
Judge’s current slash line doesn’t just lead the majors—it’s threatening to break conventional scales. He’s batting .394 with a .490 OBP, a .779 slugging percentage, and a 1.269 OPS, all best in MLB. His 98 hits also lead the league. More impressively, he’s reached base multiple times in 51 of the Yankees’ first 66 games—something only Ruth and Gehrig have done in over a century of baseball.
He’s also reached base in 54 consecutive road games, tying Derek Jeter and trailing only Gehrig and Ruth on the Yankees’ all-time list. The consistency with which Judge performs on the road, against unfamiliar pitchers and in hostile parks, may be the most underrated part of his extraordinary season.
This is not a hot streak—it’s a campaign of sustained greatness. And the way he’s doing it, with both jaw-dropping power and relentless patience, places him in an echelon few active players can even aspire to.
The league might not be big enough
The awe around Judge’s performances isn’t just limited to stats. Even Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted he adjusted his position in the dugout during Tuesday’s homer just to see how far it would fly. “I sat up just to make sure I could watch every foot it traveled,” Boone said afterward, half-joking that Judge might need to be promoted to a higher league.
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As Judge gears up for a highly anticipated homestand—highlighted by the June 20 Aaron Judge Superman Bobblehead Night—the question is no longer if he’ll continue this stretch, but how much higher he can elevate it. With history watching and pitchers reeling, Judge isn’t just carrying the Yankees—he’s redefining what dominance looks like in the modern game.
