Aaron Judge Joins Elite MLB Club with Four 50-HR Seasons—What’s Next for Baseball’s Powerhouse?

There’s something truly jaw-dropping unfolding right before our eyes in the baseball world — and it’s all because of Aaron Judge. The New York Yankees’ powerhouse has shattered norms, blazing a trail no clean player has blazed since the legendary Babe Ruth. Just this Wednesday, Judge etched his name into the MLB record books as the fourth-ever player to notch four seasons hitting 50 or more home runs. That list? It’s got Ruth, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa — though we all know the latter two come with their own baggage. Judge sealed this milestone with a blistering three-run homer off the Chicago White Sox, a reminder that he’s not just keeping pace — he’s defining an era.

This season, Judge’s form remains nothing short of spectacular, positioning him as the frontrunner for his third American League MVP in just four years. The only challenger posing a threat? Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, who’s nudging ahead in home runs but doesn’t match Judge’s overall dominance. Beyond this year, Judge has already rocked the diamond with 50-homer seasons as a rookie in 2017, during his record-setting 2022 MVP campaign — when he clubbed 62 homers, the accepted “clean” American League record — and again last year as a two-time MVP. With Judge, Raleigh, and stars like Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber all flirting with 50 homers this season, 2025 might become the first time in decades that multiple sluggers achieve this feat without the shadow of steroids looming. If Eugenio Suarez taps into a late power surge, that’d make five giant bats in one season — a staggering reality.

It’s impossible to overestimate just how remarkable Judge’s recent run has been. Since 2022 kicked off, after clearing his 49th home run this past Saturday, his slash line reads a dazzling .310/.438/.673. The nearest competitor in OPS — that would be Ohtani — trails well behind at .996. And that gap? It’s larger than the space between Ohtani and the seventh-best hitter, Ronald Acuña Jr. In a modern game where hitters often must choose between making contact or swinging for the fences against blazing fastballs, Aaron Judge emerges as the rarest of creatures — a true unicorn wielding both power and precision.

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It is accurate to say that Aaron Judge is doing stuff that hasn’t been seen since Babe Ruth, from a clean player.

The New York Yankees star became the fourth player in MLB history to post four seasons with at least 50 home runs on Wednesday, joining Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Obviously, those McGwire and Sosa feats come with asterisks.

Judge got there with a three-run homer against the the Chicago White Sox.

It’s been another stellar season for Judge this year, one that currently has him favored to take home a third AL MVP award in four years. His only competition at this point is Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who’s ahead of him in the home runs column but not much else.

Judge’s other 50-homer seasons are his rookie year in 2017, his first MVP year in 2022 (when he broke the AL record with 62, also considered the clean record) and last season’s second MVP year.

In addition to Judge and Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber have also crossed the 50-homer threshold. Before 2025, the only seasons with more than two 50-homer campaigns were 1998 and 2001, making this the first non-steroid-tinged year to see this kind of power display. If Eugenio Suarez (47 homers) has one last power burst, it will be the first season to have five such players.

It’s hard to overstate just how impressive Judge’s run over the past four years have been. After his 49th homer Saturday, Judge was hitting .310/.438/.673 since the start of 2022. The next-closest MLB player to his 1.111 OPS was Ohtani, at .996. The distance between Judge and Ohtani was greater than the one between Ohtani and the seventh-best player on the list, Ronald Acuña Jr.

In a world where seemingly every hitter has to choose between contact and power when facing today’s velocity-driven pitching, Judge is a unicorn.