New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. Pitcher Austin Gomber threw an 0-2 slider off the plate and Judge hit it toward center field to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the first inning.
The 32-year-old Judge reached the 50-home run milestone for the third time in his career, the last time coming in 2022 when he set an AL single-season home run record with 62 and was named AL MVP.
The ninth-year veteran added his 51st home run in the seventh inning, following consecutive homers by Juan Soto, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton off Rockies relief pitcher Jeff Criswell, ultimately sealing a 10-3 win over Colorado.
Judge hit 50 home runs for the first time in a full season with the Yankees in 2017, a season that included a spot on the AL All-Star team, AL Rookie of the Year award, AL home run title and Silver Slugger award win.
Judge enters the 2024 season as a favorite to win his second American League MVP award and potentially become the first player to win the MLB Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and just the second player since 1967.
Judge currently leads all players in home runs (51) and RBIs (122) and is second in batting average (.334). Only Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. (.347) stands in the way of the Yankees star leading MLB in all three categories.
With 32 games remaining in the regular season, Judge is on track to hit 60 home runs for the second time in his career. He already joins Babe Ruth and Roger Maris in reaching that milestone in a single season, and if he does so again, he’ll become the first Yankee to do so in multiple seasons.
Earlier this month, Judge became the fastest player in major league history to reach 300 home runs, reaching the milestone in 954 games. Judge also surpassed Yankees legend Babe Ruth’s 3,428 at-bats to reach the milestone; Ruth reached the milestone in 3,830 at-bats.