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Jul 26, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts after a home run hit by shortstop Anthony Volpe (not seen) against the Boston Red Sox during the second inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Aaron Judge got to the major leagues relatively late compared to some of the best hitters of all time.
That means that when his New York Yankees tenure is done, he may not have the counting stats quite at the top of the MLB leaderboards.
Where Judge already stands alone, though, is in the type of individual seasons he has put together.
When you break things down one by one, Judge can already be considered the best right-handed hitter of all time.
MLB.com's Andrew Simon shared some impressive stats that help make that case.
Simon writes that in 2022, 2024 and 2025, Judge posted an OPS+ of 210 or better. That's a stat that accounts for era-adjusted OPS, and it's normalized for league average to be 100 (so 210 is 110% better than league average).
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That's three such seasons for Judge.
There have been five total seasons besides Judge in MLB history with an OPS+ that high. Two were by Rogers Hornsby in the 1920s. Then there were Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas in 1994, and Mark McGwire in 1998. And worth noting -- that 1994 duo did it in a strike-shortened season.
So Judge is already the all-time leader in that category, and there's still time for him to do it again.
Judge is truly an all-time great, and every time he steps in the batter's box, it's danger for the opposing pitcher.
These stats just emphasize the reality that Judge isn't just great for his era. He's one of the best to ever play the game of baseball.
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