Despite being out for two months due to an injury and his New York Yankees struggling in 2023, reigning AL MPV Aaron Judge still managed to put his mark on this season. Judge hit his 250th career home run in a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros on Friday and became the fastest player to reach the mark in MLB history.
Judge needed 810 games to get the 250 homers. By doing so, he surpassed Philadelphia Phillies’ legend Ryan Howard, who reached the mark in 855 games. The 31-year-old is now also in the top 10 on the Yankees’ all-time list in career home runs.
“I really don’t think about it,” Judge said via New York Post about his achievement. “When you see the guys that are on the list, especially Ryan Howard, who was one of the greatest power hitters … it’s pretty cool to be on that list.”
Judge would probably reach 250 career homers earlier in the year if it wasn’t for a toe injury that limited him to just 81 games this season. He is batting .265 and has 30 home runs and 57 RBIs for the season.
The absence of Judge also attributed to the Yankees’ poor performances. The New York team is currently fifth in AL East with a 66-69 record and will most likely miss out on the postseason. That would be the first time the Yankees are not in the playoffs since 2016.
