Aaron Judge Home Runs Through the Years

Aaron Judge home runs

Last Updated on February 27, 2024 by Matt Musico

We love all types of home runs, but Aaron Judge home runs? Those feel a little extra special. That’s certainly the case when discussing his 2017 and 2022 campaigns in particular. Judge has made his mark in Yankees history by having his name on the single-season and career home run leaderboards. His 2022 performance is also among the most powerful seasons in MLB history.

With that in mind, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember how he’s gotten himself to 200-plus dingers in such a short period of time.

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Aaron Judge Home Runs: 2016-19

2016: 4 Home Runs

Judge made his MLB debut on August 13, 2016 for the Yankees. His first taste of big-league pitching was a learning experience, to say the least. He did collect his first four career home runs that season, but the rest of his production wasn’t too great.

Those homers came with a -0.2 fWAR, 62 wRC+, and a 44.5% strikeout rate. Two of Judge’s homers came in his first two games with the Yankees. Those took place in the Bronx against the Tampa Bay Rays. Then, of course, he slugged just two more over his final 25 games.

Don’t worry — things got better. Much better.

2017: 52 Homers

See? I told you things would get better. Judge took the lessons he learned in that cup of coffee in the bigs the year prior and put everything into practice during his AL Rookie of the Year campaign. He also finished second to Jose Altuve in AL MVP voting.

Those 52 homers not only led the league in 2017, but that number also broke Mark McGwire‘s MLB rookie home run record. Those honors belong to Pete Alonso now, but Judge will forever be able to say he was the first MLB rookie to ever record a 50-homer season. That’s definitely something.

The burly right-handed hitter got himself off to another hot start. But this time, he sustained it throughout the entire first half. Heading into the All-Star Game, Judge had already slugged 30 dingers while posting a .329/.448/.691 line. This stretch included two months of double-digit home runs (10 in April and 10 in June).

Even after winning the Home Run Derby in Miami, Judge couldn’t bust out of a two-month swoon at the plate. Between July and August, he combined to hit .207/.359/.402 with 10 home runs and 20 RBI in 223 plate appearances.

With the rookie home run record in his sights, though, he turned it on and finished with a flourish in September. His 1.352 OPS, 15 homers, seven doubles, and 32 RBI were the best of any month.

2018: 27 Home runs

How do you follow up a historic rookie season like the one Judge put together? After posting 8.8 fWAR in 2017, the outfielder followed it up with a 5.3 fWAR performance despite appearing in just 112 games. His home-run pace took a bit of a dive, as his ISO went from .343 to .249, but hey, keeping a 50-homer-per-year pace is hard.

All but 13 of Judge’s games played came between April and July, and his performance was mostly consistent. He posted a monthly OPS of at least .960 in three of four opportunities, all while slugging five-plus homers in each month.

There were two similarities when comparing this campaign to his rookie year, though. Once again, Judge got his season off to a fast start. In 128 plate appearances between March and April, he slashed .317/.453/.584 with seven home runs and 18 RBI.

The other similarity was his propensity for hitting home runs at Yankee Stadium. After slugging 33 of his 52 home runs in the Bronx the year before, Judge slugged 18 of his 27 dingers in front of the home fans.

2019: 27 Home runs

The 2019 season was yet another solid performance for Judge. He accumulated 4.5 fWAR with a 141 wRC+ and those 27 homers. The problem was that he once again couldn’t stay on the field at the same rate as in 2017. Judge appeared in just 102 games, accumulating 447 plate appearances.

This was the season when those above similarities stopped for the time being. Judge instead hit 18 of his 27 homers on the road, and since he missed time prior to the All-Star break, most of his power production came in the second half.

Finally getting healthy and being on the field consistently helped him get in a groove to finish the year strong. On the morning of August 1st, Judge had 11 homers. He used the final two months to slug 16 homers with 27 RBI in 217 trips to the plate.

Aaron Judge Home Runs: 2020-22

2020: 9 Homers

It’s not an exaggeration when I say 2020 was weird for everybody. It was great that MLB still had a season, even if it was only 60 games. Judge appeared in just 28 of them, and when looking at his monthly splits, his performance landed on two different ends of the spectrum.

July consisted of just 27 plate appearances. However, Judge still slugged three homers and posted a .974 OPS. Those good feelings kept going into August. He slugged six more homers with 12 RBI while slashing .317/.364/.781 in 44 plate appearances. But during his final 43 trips to the plate in September, he was a completely different hitter. This included no dingers, two RBI, and a .548 OPS.

2021: 39 Home Runs

It took him a few years, but Judge broke through that invisible 27-homer barrier for his most powerful season since 2017. More importantly, though, it was his healthiest. The outfielder racked up 633 plate appearances while appearing in 148 games.

Judge hitting home runs at an above-average pace when all things are equal is never really a question. Like his teammate, Giancarlo Stanton, it’s just a matter of how much opportunity he’s getting.

Once again, Judge slugged more homers on the road (24) than he did at home (15). Surprisingly enough, he was just a much better overall hitter away from Yankee Stadium. He drove in a lot more runs (57 vs. 41) and had a much higher OPS (1.019 vs. .810) as a visiting player in nearly an identical number of plate appearances.

His monthly homer production went on a roller coaster ride, and he finished at the top. After slugging seven in March/April, it went down in each of the following three months (six in May, five in June, three in July). But then he started climbing back up to the top with eight in August before finishing with 10 in September.

2022: 62 Homers

What else is there to say about Judge’s 2022 performance that already hasn’t been said? It’s been…ridiculous. His 33 home runs in the first half are among the most ever before the All-Star break, and it was partially powered by a ridiculous three-month stretch between May and July.

During this 357-plate-appearance sample, Judge slashed .298/.388/.689 with 36 homers, 78 RBI, and 73 runs scored. That’s a great year for many players, but that was just half of his 2022 performance. He didn’t hit fewer than 11 homers in any of those three months, either.

But it’s not like his August performance was anything to scoff at. Although Judge didn’t get to double-digit homers, he came close (nine) while posting a 1.091 OPS. And as we’ve seen throughout this walk down memory lane, the regular season’s final month tends to be a good one for Judge. That came true again, as the slugger finished the year with 11 homers and a 260 wRC+ down the stretch. Judge’s historic season helped power the Yankees to 254 team home runs, which is among the most all-time for a single season.

2023: 37 Home Runs

Who knows how many homers Judge would’ve hit if a toe injury didn’t derail a significant portion of his season? Based on the pace he sustained when healthy, he probably would’ve challenged for another 60-homer campaign. But still, slugging 37 dingers in only 458 plate appearances is quite impressive.

It landed him among the league leaders, and he also logged two separate three-homer performances down the stretch. He also captured the Yankees’ team home run crown quite easily.

Judge, who was named an AL All-Star, added 75 RBI and 79 runs scored to his ledger. His 175 OPS+ was also his second-best single-season mark, with only 2022 (210) being better.

Despite Yankee Stadium being a hitter-friendly park for homers, Judge hit 20 of his 37 taters on the road. And as long as he was on the field, the man went deep consistently. He had 18 homers through the end of May. After having just two across June and July, he came back to slug 17 from August 1 through the end of the regular season.

Get an in-depth look at his 2023 damage with our Aaron Judge Home Run Tracker.

2024: In Progress

We’ll update this article once Judge’s 2024 regular season is in the books. While you’re waiting for that, you can track his damage with our Aaron Judge Home Run Tracker.

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