'He's Playing a Different Game': Judge HR No. 15 Puts Him on 66-Homer Pace
Aaron Judge hit his MLB-leading 15th home run of the season on Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers, saving the Yankees from being shutout for the third time this season in a 6-1 loss at Yankee Stadium.
The much bigger story here is that Judge, who recently turned 34 years old, is hardly showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Because at the present moment, Judge is on pace to hit 66 home runs.
As Yankees manager Aaron Boone put it following Wednesday's game, "He's [Judge] playing a different game than the rest."
Judge's 66-Homer Pace Would Shatter His Own MLB American League Record
Assuming the red-hot Ben Rice returns to the lineup relatively soon after missing the last four games with a left hand contusion, that lethal lefty-righty-lefty combination of Rice, Judge, and Cody Bellinger could have the 2025 AL MVP well on his way to chasing himself for more storied home run history.
And yes, while we are just 37 games into the usual 162-game marathon of a season, it almost feels like Judge's monster output has become much more of an expectation, with very few fans surprised by anything he does at this point.
15 home runs in 37 games for Aaron Judge
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) May 7, 2026
Judge is on pace to hit 66 homers in 2026 - 4 more than his own American League record of 62, set in 2022 pic.twitter.com/aJPboPBaBo
With Judge having broken Roger Maris' American League record of 61 home runs in the 2022 season, a remarkable year where he launched 62, it's kind of wild to look at the numbers that have followed since.
Outside of an injury-plagued 2023 season, which still managed to be very good, here's what the 6-foot-7 right fielder has been doing at the plate:
- 2022 season - 62 home runs
- 2023 season - 37 home runs (missed 56 games)
- 2024 season - 58 home runs
- 2025 season - 53 home runs
And here we are again, with Judge off to another ridiculous home run output to begin the 2026 season.
Aaron Judge is the first player in the big leagues to reach 15 homers and he's quietly on pace to break his own record of 62, which is just insane. Business as usual for the greatest hitter of his generation. pic.twitter.com/cOZdRUhRBR
— Not Gaetti (@notgaetti) May 7, 2026
As X user @notgaetti put it, "business as usual for the greatest hitter of his generation" might be a very fair way to say it these days. Especially when taking into account that Judge routinely does all of this without any extra flair and instead goes with a true business-like approach, quietly rounding the bases.
What might be scariest of all here is that Judge hasn't technically "gotten hot" just yet, with his .273 batting average sitting well below his prior two seasons.
However, 15 home runs and six doubles on 36 hits through 37 games is the type of efficiency that more than makes up for any kind of dip in batting average.
One person that does continue to be dumbfounded by it all is Boone, who has a front row seat to the fireworks.
After being asked if he still finds himself reacting "like woah, wow," Boone responded with the following:
"Yeah I can't believe it," said Boone with a laugh.
"He's [Judge] playing a different game. I looked up at the scoreboard last night and I think he was gettin' close to 1100 OPS [1 .100] and it's like 'How's he doing? Fine.' It's unbelievable. It really is ... so I do have to catch myself every now and then, and just realize how remarkable it is. I really think he's just playing a different gam than the rest of everyone."
"He's playing a different game than the rest of everyone"
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 7, 2026
- Aaron Boone on Aaron Judge pic.twitter.com/EZG68639qK
As of Thursday, May 7, the aforementioned Rice, a clear key cog in the Yankees wheel this season, is still considered day-to-day but, perhaps most importantly, is not expected to see a trip to the injured list.
That's not only great news for fans of the Yankees, it's outstanding news for Judge, too.
Related: Aaron Judge Sends Message After Death of Former Yankees Announcer John Sterling
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 11:19 AM.