Aaron Judge is once again on pace to make history, threaten his own AL single-season home run record

But that shouldn't take away from what he's done in his career, and what he continues to do through the early portion of the 2026 regular season. Once again, Judge is on pace to make history, just a few years after breaking the American League single-season home run record. 

For his entire career thus far, Judge's wRC+ is 178, the third highest in MLB history behind Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. And yes, even ahead of Barry Bonds. That's pretty darn good company. And in 2026, even after turning 34, he's somehow at it again.

In 2022, Judge hit 62 home runs, setting a new AL single-season record. In 2026, he's already hit 15 through 40 team games. Over a 162-game season, that puts him on pace to hit … 61 homers.

The only two players to hit 60 or more homers multiple times in a career are Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, both of whom were linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Even the great Babe Ruth hit 60 or more just once. Should Judge reach that figure this year, he'd become the first player, ever, to hit 60 home runs in more than one season without a PED association.

There's a long way to go, and injuries or a slump could derail the pursuit. But what we're seeing with Judge is not a typical "best hitter in baseball" run. He's making a case to be one of the best two or three hitters in baseball history. And he's doing it in an era where pitching is better than it's ever been.

The average fastball velocity in MLB this year is up to 94.6 mph. When the league moved into the Statcast era of pitch tracking, average fastball velocity was 93.1 mph. Pitchers are throwing harder than they ever have, and thanks to new measurements and understanding of pitch shapes, spin rates, and tunneling effects, it's harder to hit than it's ever been. Judge is still putting up historically good numbers.