HCurrent New York Yankees player Aaron Judge is having a dream season, if not the best of his career, then definitely one of them.
It’s close to breaking at the moment Roger MarisAmerican League record: 61 homers in one season.
With a spectacular September hitting .514/.596/1.081 in his last 10 games, Judge put his name into the Triple Crown challenge among other honors he could win.
Paul Goldschmidt belonging St. Louis Cardinals does its own thing in the National League, and only eleven have been two Triple Crown winners in both leagues in the same year.
Hall of Fame Jimmy Fox (Athletics) and Chuck Klein (Phyllis) did it in 1933, so Judge and Goldschmidt there is a chance, however small, to do so this year.
Players who have achieved such recognition in the past are ranked as follows, in order of hitting average, number of homers hit, and runs scored.
- Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 2012 (Won MVP) .330/44/139
- Carl Jastrzemski, Red Sox 1967 (Won MVP) .326/44/121
- Frank Robinson, 1966 Orioles (Won MVP) .316/49/122
- Mickey Mantle, 1956 Yankees (Won MVP) .353/52/130
- Ted Williams, Red Sox 1947 (runner-up MVP) .343/32/114
- Ted Williams, Red Sox 1942 (runner-up MVP) .356/36/137
average level
The 30-year-old Californian hit .287 last season and averaged .276 in nearly 2,500 games in 2022.
Despite having a huge strike zone, Judge hits at an average level.
Players must have 3.1 plate appearances per team game to qualify for the batting title (that’s 502 plate appearances in a full 162-game season).
Here is the American League batting race as of September. fourteen:
- Luis Arraes, Twins: .319.
- Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox: .318
- Jose Abreu, White Sox: .312
- Aaron Judge, Yankees: .310
- Nate Lowe, Rangers: .307
home runs
Aaron Judge (57 HR) now has 20 more home runs than anyone else in MLB (Kyle Schwarber, 37).
This marks the first time a player finishes a calendar day by 20-plus points since the last day of the 1928 season, when Babe Ruth outscored Jim Bottomley and Hack Wilson for 23 home runs. According to ESPN.
- Aaron Judge, Yankees: 57
- Mike Trout, Angels: 35
- Shohei Otani, Angels: 34
- Jordan Alvarez, Houston: 33
- Several associated with 30
Judge also won the 52-point home run title as a rookie in 2017.
The only active players with multiple home run titles are Cabrera (2008 AL and 2012 AL), Nolan Arenado (2015 NL, 2016 NL, 2018 NL), Albert Pujols (2009 NL and 2010 NL) and Giancarlo Stanton (2014 NL and 2018 NL). 2017).
career highlights
Judge has a shot at becoming the first player in baseball to hit 130 RBIs since JD Martinez had 132 RBIs in 2018 with the Red Sox.
He could be the first to hit 140 RBIs since Prince Fielder (Brewers) and Ryan Howard (Phillies) had 141 RBIs in 2009.
No American League player has had 140 RBIs in a season since Alex Rodriguez had 156 with the 2007 Yankees.
- Aaron Judge, Yankees: 123
- Jose Ramirez, Guardians: 109
- Kyle Tucker, Astros: 95
- Adolis Garcia, Rangers: 92
- Shohei Otani, Angels: 88
The pursuit of the Triple Crown will come down to whether the Referee can also win the batting title as that is the only category where there is significant work to be done.