Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton: The Untold Story Behind Their Legendary Rivalry and Legacy

As unfortunate as it is to consider, Aaron Judge is not exactly a spring chicken. 2026 will be his age-34 season, and his 11th in the Major Leagues. On the bright side, that is about the only thing holding back the three-time MVP from hitting host of huge milestones. Since turning 30, Judge has done things on a baseball field that can only be compared to names like Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds. At this point in his career, number 99 has four different seasons with 50 or more homers (including one with 62), and has posted an OPS+ of at least 210 in three of the last four seasons. It has been said time and again, but it is impossible to argue that we are seeing an all-time great at the peak of his powers.

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With regards to his reaching of 500 homers, the path is fairly straight forward. Judge has six years remaining on the contract he signed with New York prior to the 2023 season, and for the argument’s sake, we’ll assume that brings him to the end of his playing career. With 368 career homers already in the bag, Judge would need to average 22 home runs per season for the remainder of the deal. That is easier said than done, but Judge benefits greatly from the fact that he could easily knock out more than two thirds of the 132 homers he needs to join the exclusive club in the next two seasons. In fact, he’s averaged well over 50 over the last four years, and nearly 60 per 162 games in that stretch. No matter how the final few years of the contract look for Judge, he can easily do much of the needed damage in the next two or three seasons.

As far as his Hall of Fame case stands, the rest would just be gravy at that point, as his case is already nearly settled after his first decade in the league.