Aaron Judge Surpasses Joe DiMaggio with 47th Homer, Shattering Yankees’ Home Run Records in Stunning Fashion

Aaron Judge just dropped another bomb for the New York Yankees, sending Fenway Park into a frenzy with his 47th homer this season—and what a shot it was, right over the Green Monster, no less. That blast didn’t just put the Yanks up 1-0 early against the Boston Red Sox on Friday; it catapulted Judge past Joe DiMaggio into the fourth spot on the Yankees’ all-time home run leaderboard. Only legends like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig are ahead of him now. Watching Judge crush a 93-mph fastball from Lucas Giolito so cleanly, I couldn’t help but marvel at just how dominant he’s been this year. His stat line is downright brutal for pitchers: a .324 batting average, a .444 on-base percentage, and an OPS north of 1.1, which has many already penciling him in for a third American League MVP award. And consider this: with 19 homers belted in the first inning alone, Judge isn’t just making history—he’s rewriting it, surpassing the previous record held by Alex Rodriguez. The big guy’s not just hitting balls; he’s carving out a legacy faster than anyone anticipated, especially when you stack his pace against DiMaggio’s slower march in nearly 600 more games. Honestly, watching this unfold, it feels like we’re witnessing the rise of a true Yankees icon in real time. LEARN MORE

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge gave his team an early 1-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox on Friday at Fenway Park by hitting his 47th home run of the season.

That home run moved Judge into fourth place on the Yankees’ all-time home run list, passing Joe DiMaggio with 362 career long balls. Only Babe Ruth (659), Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493) are ahead of Judge in franchise home run history.

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Judge hit his home run on the second pitch he saw from Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito. After striking out Trent Grisham to begin the game, Giolito left a 93-mph fastball in the outer-middle of the strike zone, and Judge launched it over the Green Monster.

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Among American League batters, Judge currently trails Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who has 53 homers this season. Kyle Schwarber (50) of the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani (48) are also ahead of Judge among MLB home run leaders.

Additionally, Judge’s homer was the 19th he’s hit in the first inning this season. That’s the most during a single season in MLB history, surpassing the 18 Alex Rodriguez hit in 2001 with the Texas Rangers, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.

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Judge came into Friday’s game leading MLB with a .324 batting average, .444 on-base percentage, .676 slugging percentage and 1.120 OPS. His 104 walks are tops among AL batters and second in MLB. Those numbers position him as the favorite to win his third AL MVP award.

Judge reached fourth on the Yankees’ all-time home run list in 1,130 games played, 606 fewer than DiMaggio’s 1,736 career games.

In his 13 seasons, DiMaggio hit 40 or more homers only once, slugging 46 in 1937, his second year in the majors. Judge has hit 40 or more in four of his 10 MLB seasons, including in 2025. In three of those seasons, he hit more than 50, with a career-high and AL-record 62 homers in 2022.

DiMaggio lost three seasons to military service from 1943 to ’45 while he fought in World War II.