New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge is on a tear since returning from injury. But can he beat the home run record he set last year?
Last season, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs, breaking the American League's single-season record set by Roger Maris in 1961. This offseason, Judge was named the AL MVP for the first time in his career. Meanwhile, the Yankees rewarded Judge with a nine-year, $360 million contract and the captaincy for the team.
It was always hard for Judge to replicate his success in 2022, but he is certainly doing a great job of it.
After missing time due to a hip injury and returning to the tea on May 9 against the Oakland Athletics, Judge has been on a tear. Before his injury, Judge had hit just six home runs in 26 games. Now, he has hit 12 home runs in a matter of 20 games before New York's May 31 game against the Seattle Mariners.
With this, how many home runs is Judge on pace for hitting, and will he come close to matching his record set last year?
How many home runs is Aaron Judge on pace to hit in 2023?
To calculate pace, you have to divide the amount of home runs the player hit by the amount of games teams played so far in the season. Then, you multiply that by 162, the number of total games in a season. Judge has hit 18 home runs in 57 games played. So, he's on pace to hit 51 home runs (when rounding down).
Had Judge not missed time due to injury, he would have had a better chance of matching or breaking the record, on paper. But that's not to count him out completely. Who knows, he could hit an absurd amount of home runs in a stretch of the season.
In the first two games of the Yankees' three-game set against the Mariners, Judge has hit three home runs already. Two in the series opener on May 29, and one in the May 30 contest.
Judge so far is already leading the American League home runs entering May 31, including both the league and the entire majors in slugging percentage (.691) and OPS (1.104).
Whether Judge matches or breaks his record remains to be seen. But, he appears to be on pace for another great season.