Aaron Judge’s latest milestone came at Fenway Park, where he smashed his 362nd career home run to leapfrog Joe DiMaggio on the New York Yankees’ all-time list. With only Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig ahead of him, Judge has officially entered the inner circle of Bronx sluggers. However, unlike those legends, his journey takes place in an era where hitting home runs is arguably harder than ever.
Ruth and Mantle defined their eras with raw power, while Gehrig paired consistency with run production that seemed automatic. DiMaggio and Yogi Berra rounded out a golden generation of Yankees stars who often made October baseball feel routine. Judge now sits in that company, and he arrived there with remarkable efficiency.
Judge has averaged 52 home runs per 162 games in his career, a pace matched only by Ruth. His home-run-per-plate-appearance rate of 0.09 ties Ruth for the most lethal long-ball clip in Yankees history. Through 10 seasons, Judge owns a .292 batting average, .411 on-base percentage, and a .613 slugging percentage. His OPS+ of 177 tells the story: he is producing 77 percent better than the league average hitter across a decade.
The difference comes in context. Mantle hit 536 homers while facing pitchers who rarely touched 95 mph. Judge, meanwhile, is taking hacks against a generation of arms built for velocity. League-wide average fastball velocity has climbed above 94 mph, with relievers regularly eclipsing 98 mph. Add in data-driven pitch design—sliders tunneling off high heaters, splitters disguised as changeups—and Judge’s home run feats stand out even more.
How Many Will He Hit?
Judge is 33 years old with six seasons left on the nine-year contract he signed before 2023. He already has 362 career home runs, including a franchise-record 62 in 2022 and 58 more in 2024. His recent output proves he’s far from slowing down: he hit 47 homers in 137 games in 2025 and has averaged nearly 52 homers per 162 games across his career.
But projecting forward requires some realism. Power ages well, but durability does not. Judge missed time in 2018, 2019, and 2023, losing chunks of seasons to oblique, rib, and toe injuries. Even so, his last two healthy years, 2024 and 2025, suggest he can still carry the Yankees lineup.
If Judge averages 45 homers per year over the next six seasons, he would add 270 more to his total, pushing him to 632. That would vault him past both Mantle (536) and Gehrig (493), leaving only Ruth (659) ahead in Yankees history. Conservatively, if he dips closer to 40 per year, he’d still finish with around 600—making him one of only nine players in MLB history to clear that mark.
The variable is health. Should Judge stay on the field for 140 or more games most years, the chase for Ruth becomes realistic. Even with some slippage, the Yankees captain is on track to cement himself as the franchise’s greatest slugger since the 1960s.
Legacy Still Hinges on October
What separates Judge from the legends he’s chasing is October hardware. Nine of the top 10 Yankees in WAR have World Series rings; Judge does not. His lone appearance ended in disappointment last year against the Dodgers. Until he hoists a trophy, comparisons to Ruth or Mantle will come with an asterisk.
Still, every swing extends his case. In a high-velocity era stacked with specialized relievers, Judge’s dominance looks even more remarkable. If the math holds, by the time his contract ends, he’ll be remembered not just as the face of the 2020s Yankees—but as a player who forced his way into conversations reserved for the immortals.
Yankees’ Captain on Pace to Reach 600 Career Home Runs