The 2023 Yankees may have had a rough season, but the club’s struggles took a backseat to history on Friday night thanks to the latest incredible home run from Aaron Judge.
With a 426-foot solo bomb off Astros ace Justin Verlander in the fifth inning, Judge hit his 250th career home run—and 30th of the season—in his 810th career game, setting a new mark as the fastest player to reach 250 HRs in MLB history.
Judge’s 810-game march to 250 passes former Phillies star Ryan Howard, who took 855 games to reach the mark. Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner is third, taking 871 games to reach it.
Aaron Judge just smashed his 30th home run of the season and the 250th of his career! pic.twitter.com/Os4fC1zMzu
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2023
Prior to Friday night, Judge, who’s missed 53 games this year due to injury, last homered against the Tigers on Monday. The reigning AL MVP had nine home runs on 19 hits in the month of August.
Despite a down year for both himself and the team, Judge figures to continue adding to his impressive total as the season enters its final stretch. New York (65–69) will play Houston on Saturday and Sunday before hosting Detroit for a three-game series starting Tuesday.