Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton Thinks Aaron Judge Could Hit 73 HRs in a Single MLB Season

Andrew PetersAugust 26, 2024

Icon Sportswire

Aaron Judge has solidified himself as one of the best sluggers in the game, and his teammate Giancarlo Stanton believes he has the chance to make history.

Per The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty, Stanton said he thinks Judge can hit 73 home runs, the record Barry Bonds set for the most in a single season.

“Times change,” Stanton said. “The game changes. It’s such a far-reaching number. But before that, so was 60. Then 70. It can be done. At the pace he’s going, he’s able to do it for sure. It’s just a matter of putting it together.”

Judge has hit 51 home runs this season, the most in the majors and 10 more than Shohei Ohtani, who has the second-most. With 31 games left in the season, Judge is just 11 homers away from his career high of 62, which set the American League record for home runs in a season in 2022.

Kuty noted that when Bonds slugged 73 home runs in 2001, he homered every 6.5 at-bats, while Judge is hitting a home run every nine at-bats. Breaking the record this season would be a bit of a stretch, but it doesn’t seem inconceivable that Judge could hit more than 73 at some point in his career.

For now, the Yankees will look to Judge to continue doing what he’s doing, which is just about everything at the plate. Along with his home run total, Judge leads the majors in RBI (122) and OPS (1.202), and he has the second-best batting average (.333).

His MVP-caliber season has led New York to the best record in the American League, and the Yankees will look to keep that spot through the final month of the season.