No. 300! Judge becomes fastest to reach homer milestone
CHICAGO -- Aaron Judge secured a place in history in Wednesday evening’s 10-2 win over the White Sox, becoming the fastest player to reach 300 career home runs in terms of both at-bats and games played.
Judge hit his Major League-leading 43rd home run of the season in the eighth inning off Chad Kuhl, with his 300th career blast coming in his 955th career game. With that, Judge bested a Major League record held by Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, who cracked 300 home runs in 1,087 career games.
The homer, a three-run shot that put the Yanks up 9-2, came immediately after the White Sox intentionally walked Juan Soto. Austin Wells followed Judge by homering off Steven Wilson.
Asked recently about the looming milestone, Judge said that he would prefer to focus on the team’s performance.
“If it comes with a win, it’ll mean something,” Judge said. “It’s not what we play for. I just want to put us in a good position.”
The Yankees captain has hit 300 home runs in 3,431 at-bats, which also bests the fastest paces in terms of at-bats in Major League history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Babe Ruth held the previous mark with 3,831 at-bats, followed by Mark McGwire (3,837) and Kiner (3,883).
Others to reach 300 home runs in notable amounts of games played include: Ryan Howard (1,093), Juan González (1,096), Alex Rodriguez (1,117), Giancarlo Stanton (1,119), Harmon Killebrew (1,137), McGwire (1,148), Albert Pujols (1,165), Albert Belle (1,171) and Ruth (1,173).
“It’s incredible,” Stanton said. “He does something special every day. Being able to see most of his career, it’s been fun to watch his evolution. He’s got more in store.”