aaron judge yankees
Gregory Fisher | USA TODAY Sports

With his latest dinger, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is the third player in franchise history to hit 60 home runs in a single season. This is also the first time we’ve seen a hitter reach these heights since 2001 when Barry Bonds (73) and Sammy Sosa (64) last did it.

With each ball that he launches over the wall, Judge continues to cement his case to be the American League MVP Award winner. His asking price in free agency probably spikes a little bit, as well.

But the conversation surrounding Judge’s potential trip to the open market will have to wait for another day. Right now, it’s worth sitting back and just marveling at one of the most powerful seasons the sport has ever seen.

Getting over the hump to 60 home runs truly has him in rare air when it comes to single-season home run history. Just seven other performances have produced more homers in one year than Judge currently has, and it’s been done by four players.

MLB single-season home run leaders:

  • Barry Bonds, 2001: 73
  • Mark McGwire, 1998: 70
  • Sammy Sosa, 1998: 66
  • Mark McGwire, 1999: 65
  • Sammy Sosa, 2001: 64
  • Sammy Sosa, 1999: 63
  • Roger Maris, 1961: 61
  • Aaron Judge, 2022: 60

Could this just be the continuation of a career full of home-run milestones? We’ll see, but after this and also becoming the first rookie to post a 50-homer season in 2017, he’s building quite the resume.

More on ESNY:
WFAN’s John Sterling preparing for Aaron Judge’s Yankees home run history
• Aaron Judge free agency: MLB insider thinks Mets will pursue slugger
• Francisco Lindor hits trifecta for Mets shortstop history
• Yankees’ Aaron Judge will get ‘$300 million-plus’ in free agency, MLB insider says
• Dodgers’ Trea Turner won’t limit MLB free-agent options, but is ‘East Coast guy’
• WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti also thinks Mets are cursed by Timmy Trumpet

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Matt Musico is an editor for ESNY. He’s been writing about baseball and the Mets for the past decade. His work has been featured on numberFire, MetsMerized Online, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo! Sports.