Yankees’ Aaron Judge hits 50th and 51st homers, reaches milestone in 2024

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge blasted his 50th and 51st home runs of the 2024 season on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies. In the first inning, Judge connected with a slider from pitcher Austin Gomber, sending it deep to center field to give the Yankees a 2–1 lead.

At 32 years old, Judge has now reached the 50-home-run mark for the third time in his career. His last achievement of this milestone came in 2022 when he set the American League single-season home run record with 62 and was named AL MVP.

Judge added his 51st home run in the seventh inning as part of a power surge that saw three consecutive homers from Juan Soto, Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton off Rockies reliever Jeff Criswell. The Yankees secured a 10–3 victory over Colorado.

Judge first reached 50 home runs in his rookie year with the Yankees in 2017, a season that included an AL All-Star selection, AL Rookie of the Year honors, a home run title, and a Silver Slugger Award.

This season, Judge is a strong contender for his second AL MVP award and could become MLB’s first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012, and only the second since 1967.

Judge currently leads the league in home runs (51) and RBIs (122), and is second in batting average (.334). The only player ahead of him in batting average is Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, who is hitting .347.

With 32 games remaining in the regular season, Judge is on track to hit 60 home runs for the second time in his career. If he accomplishes this feat, he would become the first Yankee to hit that many home runs in multiple seasons.

Earlier this month, Judge became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs, achieving the milestone in 954 games. He also surpassed Yankees legend Babe Ruth by reaching 300 homers in 3,428 career at-bats, compared to Ruth’s 3,830 at-bats.