The New York Yankees won the American League East and are the top team in the AL. Centerfielder Aaron Judge led the team offensively once again. He stroked 58 home runs, knocked in 144 runs, and tallied up 180 hits. His Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) was 218, which Yankee fan Addison put in historical context on social media.
Just being in a conversation with Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams is an incredible honor. When you look at the list, Judge is the only right-handed hitter in the top ten. That implies that the Yankees centerfielder just had the greatest season by a right-handed hitter in baseball history.
Judge holds the American League single-season home run record with 62, a mark he set in 2022. That season was the best of his career before this year, as he won his first MVP. He is on pace to win the second of his career after this incredible season.
Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera are the preeminent right-handed hitters of the 21st century. Without steroid allegations, former Yankees third baseman Rodriguez would already be in the Hall of Fame. The two first basemen have no steroid allegations and will be in Cooperstown on their first attempt.
Judge has put together a Cooperstown-worthy first eight years of his career. He is the quickest player to get to 300 home runs, has two seasons over .300 batting average, and four seasons with an OPS over 1.000. While those are fantastic numbers, he can become a Yankee legend with a great postseason.
Judge can become a Yankees legend in the postseason
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The recent era of competitive Yankee teams coincides with Judge's arrival on the scene. They made the ALCS with no expectations in 2017 thanks to Judge's incredible rookie season. He set a then-rookie record with 52 home runs. won Rookie of the Year, and finished second in MVP voting.
In the postseason, Judge has been far from his regular-season self. In 44 games, he is hitting .211 with 13 home runs, 25 RBIs, and a .772 OPS. Those numbers are solid but do not represent his greatness like the regular season numbers do. His last postseason series left a bad taste in Yankee fans' mouths. Judge went 1-16 in the ALCS sweep by the Astros in 2022.
Whether this was the greatest season ever by a right-handed hitter may always be up for debate. Is it even Judge's best season, beating out his 62-homer campaign? He can put that debate to rest by dominating in the postseason and leading the Yankees to their 28th championship.
