Aaron Judge is having himself a life-changing season. That much was evident since about mid-May, and his decision to turn down the Yankees’ contract extension to bet on himself will be included for years to come in self-confidence books.
Tying the Yankee and American League record for home runs is one thing. His first MVP will be a nice cherry on top too. But to fully appreciate the magnitude of Judge’s unforgettable 2022 season, one really has to dig deep into the weeds.
Let’s start with the basics. Judge is enjoying just the eighth 60-homer season ever. Titans of the game like Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez never did that.
His 11 multi-HR games are tied for the most in a single season, joining Sammy Sosa (1998) and Hank Greenberg (1938).
Judge is the only player in the history of Major League Baseball to post a season with 60 homers, 25 doubles and 15 stolen bases.
Judge leads all MLB players in home runs, runs, total bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, extra base hits and times on base.
If traditional stats aren’t really your thing, rest easy knowing Judge also leads the majors in Wins Above Replacement, OPS+, wRC+, wOBA, Offensive Runs Above Average, Isolated Power and Win Probability Added.
Judge has 61 home runs. Joey Gallo, Kyle Higashioka and Marwin Gonzalez each have fewer than 61 hits for the Yankees this year.
Seven MLB players have made 300 or more plate appearances this season and have fewer hits than Judge has home runs.
Judge has homered off 55 different pitchers this year, setting a new AL record. Nick Pivetta, Jordan Lyles, Matt Swarmer and Tyler Wells have the honor of being the only pitchers to surrender more than one. Lyles, Swarmer and Wells were taken deep twice in the same game. The Rangers are the AL only team to keep Judge in the yard this season, and the Yankees close out the season with four games in Texas.
After hitting his 61st homer on Wednesday, Judge now has a 1.327 OPS in the second half. He posted a 1.253 OPS in July, 1.091 in August, and is currently running a 1.437 in September. The only players to finish a season with a better second half OPS are Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. The only players with a better OPS in a single September were Bonds, Greenberg and … former Astros’ outfielder Richard Hidalgo.
Judge has a better batting average (.315), on-base percentage (.438), slugging percentage (.715), OPS (1.153) and wRC+ (216) on the road than he does at Yankee Stadium (.312 average, .412 on-base percentage, .677 slugging percentage, 1.089 OPS, 202 wRC+).
From April 22 to June 4, one of his more dominant stretches of the season, Judge hit 20 home runs. That is also how many home runs the Oakland Athletics hit during the same time frame.
From July 16 to Aug. 12, he hit .436/.573/1.077 (1.650 OPS) with 15 home runs. That is more home runs than the Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers hit during the same time frame.
Since integration, the only qualified hitters to finish a season with a better wRC+ than Judge’s 209 are Bonds, Williams and Mickey Mantle. Mantle is also the only Yankee in a post-integration season to compile a higher single-season slugging percentage than Judge’s .696. The Mick posted a .705 SLG in 1956.
Judge has a .313/.425/.696 slash line. Ruth, Mantle and Lou Gehrig are the only other Yankees with a .310/.420/.690 season. The same goes for a season with an OPS+ above 200.
With 11.0 Wins Above Replacement (per FanGraphs), Judge is now the owner of the 10th-best season by a position player in Yankee history. Only Ruth, Gehrig and Mantle ever had a higher WAR in a single season. This is now also a top 25 season of all-time — eighth-best since integration — and Judge is the first player to post 11 WAR in a season since Bonds in 2004. Mike Trout (2012-13) and Mookie Betts (2018) are the only other active players with a 10-win season.
By converting WAR to a dollar scale based on how much one Win Above Replacement typically commands in free agency, FanGraphs calculated that Judge’s season should be worth $88.2 million.
His longest homerless streak of the season lasted from the fifth inning of the Yankees’ game on Aug. 12 to the third inning of their game on Aug. 22, a span of 41 plate appearances. He responded with nine in his next 60.
Judge ranks in the 99th percentile or better (!!!) in Statcast’s average exit velocity, max exit velocity, hard hit percentage and barrel percentage metrics. He’s also in the 99th percentile of walk rate, meaning he gets walked more than anybody, and when he does get pitches to hit, he hits them harder than anybody.
Finally, Judge has six games this season with more home runs than outs made.
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