New York Yankees slugger and reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge on Friday homered for the sixth time in seven games this season, and in doing so he made franchise history.
First, here's his seventh-inning homer off a first-pitch sinker from Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Tim Mayza:
Aaron Judge has played seven games this season.
— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2025
Aaron Judge has hit SIX home runs this season! pic.twitter.com/Yx9PQzGix4
That one went 403 feet to center, and Judge now has more homers this season than 10 entire teams. As for that bit of franchise history noted above, here it is:
Most HR in first 1,000 games with Yankees
— New York Yankees Stats (@nyyankeesstats) April 4, 2025
321 Babe Ruth
321 Aaron Judge
259 Alex Rodriguez
224 Joe DiMaggio
218 Mickey Mantle
212 Lou Gehrig
As you can see, Judge is now tied with the luminous Babe Ruth for most home runs by a Yankee through his first 1,000 games with the franchise. Enviable company, that (to say the least). For Ruth, those 1,000 games spanned from 1920 -- not long after he was traded/sold by the Boston Red Sox in a transaction that altered the histories of two storied franchises -- through part of the 1927 season, when he went on to hit 60 home runs for the year. Judge, meantime, has been a Yankee for his entire career, which began at the highest level in 2016.
In the Yankees' 5-2 win over the Pirates in the Bronx, Judge went 1 for 5 with a walk, and on the season he's now slashing .379/.455/1.103. The Yankees with the win are now 5-2 in 2025 and in first place in the AL East.