As if winning AL Player of the Month wasn’t enough, Aaron Judge did more than simply be the best hitter on the planet during the last month. Not only did he solidify himself as the current frontrunner for AL MVP, but he also had one of his best stretches right after having one of his worst.
Through 28 games in May, Judge hit .371 with a whopping 1.415 OPS. He smashed 14 HR’s, 12 doubles, and drove in 27 runs, all the while playing excellent defense in center field. But the counting stats don’t tell the whole story. Judge wasn’t just great over the past month: he was playing some of the best baseball the game has ever seen. Here are 5 insane achievements the Yankees’ captain accomplished in May.
Insane Stats From Aaron Judge’s Historic May
No one in baseball is hotter at the plate than Aaron Judge. 👨⚖️
He is your May AL Player of the Month presented by @Chevrolet. pic.twitter.com/qLwvQZSYcw
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) June 3, 2024
5. Breaking The Iron Horse’s Franchise Record
Any franchise record that gets broken is significant, especially for the Yankees. But when you’re breaking a record that was held by Lou Gehrig, you know it’s something special. Judge eclipsed Gehrig’s franchise record for combined doubles and homers in a single month, hitting 14 homers and 12 doubles. Gehrig’s record was previously 12 HR’s and 12 2B’s, accomplished in July of 1930.
4. Leading MLB In Home Runs
This territory is not unfamiliar to Judge, as he’s led the American League in homers twice (2017 and 2022), while of course leading the league during his record-shattering 2022 season. And once again, Judge is currently on top of the HR leaderboard, having 21 as of June 3rd. But what makes this insane is that Judge entered the month of May with six homers to his name. Six. And now he leads the entire league, with the next highest tally being 19. It’s truly unreal.
Aaron Judge past 26 games:
.404 AVG
.514 OBP
15 HR
29 RBI— BuySportsCards.com (@buysportscards) June 3, 2024
3. Huge Jump In Average
Though there is a lot of debate surrounding the importance of batting average, it’s still a good stat to use in some circumstances. Judge’s case is one of those circumstances. On May 1st, Judge’s BA sat at .207, which is terrible for any player, superstar or not. But now, his average has jumped up to .288, which is a very significant and impressive leap.
2. Captain Clutch
Judge is as clutch as they come. When the Yankees need him most, he always steps up his game to the next level (if it’s even possible for him to get any better). Out of his 21 homers this year, 13 of them have been go-ahead shots. That’s 62% of his dingers, which is far beyond the league’s average amount of home runs that give a team the lead (34%).
1. An Incredible OPS+
For those unfamiliar with OPS+, it’s a statistic that takes a player’s on-base plus slugging percentage and normalizes the number across the entire league. It accounts for external factors like ballparks, different eras of play, etc. It then adjusts so a score of 100 is league average, meaning that a player with an OPS+ of 110 is 10% better than league average. So, how high is Aaron Judge’s OPS+? Well, it is currently 200. And not just over May, over the entire season. So despite his abysmal start to the season, Judge has still been 100% better, or exactly twice as good, as the average ballplayer. Enough said.
Honorable Mention: Unbelievable WAR
When it comes to judging a player’s entire game, WAR is one of the best statistics used to gauge value. Judge’s fWAR (FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement) for all of May was 3.0. To put that into perspective, the next highest player was Bobby Witt Jr. at 1.8, and only six total players have an fWAR of 3.0 for the entire season. His season total of 3.7 is tied for first in MLB with Bobby Witt Jr. This stat also highlights Judge’s fielding and baserunning abilities, which are often overlooked since the guy is currently leading the league in homers, slugging, OPS, and walks.
The Last Word
So, you could say that Aaron Judge just finished one of the best months in baseball history. But the best part is, he’s nowhere near done. We already know how hot he can get later in the year, and he has yet to slow down. So, Yankees and baseball fans, get ready to keep watching one of the best power hitters the game has ever seen in the prime of his career.
Main Photo Credits: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
