Former Diamond ‘Dog and current New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge has become the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to hit 300 home runs.
Judge blasted a sinker that was up an inside for a line drive home run to left field on Wednesday, helping the Yankees defeat the Chicago White Sox 10-2.
The big picture: Judge’s 300th home run, his 43rd of the year, came immediately after the White Sox intentionally walked right fielder Juan Soto, who had hit four home runs in just five plate appearances over two games.
- The three-run home run extended the Yankees’ lead to 9-2 in the 8th inning.
- It only took Judge 955 games and 3,431 at-bats to hit his 300th home run. The previous records were held by Ralph Kiner at 1,087 games and Babe Ruth at 3,831 at-bats.
- His 300th home run also came one day after the eight anniversary of his MLB debut, when he hit a home run in his very first plate appearance on Aug. 13, 2016.
What he said: “It’s a great achievement,” Judge said after the game. “I’ve been in the game a little while now, I guess. We’ve still got a long way to go. I was hoping it would come in a win. It came in a big win for us. We were down for a little bit and couldn’t get much going. So I was just excited it was in a big moment.”
What we’re watching: How many home runs will Aaron Judge hit through the rest of his career?
- Soto gave a lofty projection full of confidence after Wednesday’s game, saying Judge has the ability to challenge Barry Bonds for the all-time home run record with 762.
- “I hope he breaks the home run record,” Soto said after the game. “Why not? I think he’s the guy who can literally break the record. He’s been showing it off every time. I hope he got the health to do it. I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can, too.”
