Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run of the season last week to join an exclusive list of baseball’s best sluggers. It is a truly historic campaign, as Judge leads the majors in home runs, runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, total bases, WAR and several other categories.
Overall, Judge is hitting .316/.419/.703 (214 OPS+) with 60 home runs, 128 RBI, 123 runs, 16 stolen bases and 9.7 WAR. Nearly everything pops out from that line, but it’s mostly the 60 homers.
One might have a few questions about that mark, so let’s get down and dirty with the all-time leaderboards. Just the facts here.
Most single-season home runs, MLB
1. Barry Bonds, 73, 2001
2. Mark McGwire, 70, 1998
3. Sammy Sosa, 66, 1998
4. Mark McGwire, 65, 1999
5. Sammy Sosa, 64, 2001
6. Sammy Sosa, 63, 1999
7. Roger Maris, 61, 1961
T8. Aaron Judge, 60, 2022
T8. Babe Ruth, 60, 1927
T10. Giancarlo Stanton, 59, 2017
T10. Babe Ruth, 59, 1921
Most single-season home runs, American League
1. Roger Maris, 61, 1961
T2. Aaron Judge, 60, 2022
T2. Babe Ruth, 60, 1927
T4. Hank Greenberg, 58, 1938
T4. Jimmie Foxx, 58, 1932
6. Alex Rodriguez, 57, 2002
T7. Ken Griffey Jr., 56, 1998
T7. Ken Griffey, Jr., 56, 1997
T9. Jose Bautista, 54, 2010
T9. Alex Rodriguez, 54, 2007
T9. David Ortiz, 54, 2006
T9. Mickey Mantle, 54, 1961
T9. Babe Ruth, 54, 1928
T9. Babe Ruth, 54, 1920
Most single-season home runs, National League
1. Barry Bonds, 73, 2001
2. Mark McGwire, 70, 1998
3. Sammy Sosa, 66, 1998
4. Mark McGwire, 65, 1999
5. Sammy Sosa, 64, 2001
6. Sammy Sosa, 63, 1999
7. Giancarlo Stanton, 59, 2017
8. Ryan Howard, 58, 2006
9. Luis Gonzalez, 57, 2001
10. Hack Wilson, 56, 1930
Fastest to 60 home runs (by team games)
1. Barry Bonds, 141 games, 2001
2. Mark McGwire, 142 games, 1998
3. Aaron Judge, 147 games, 2022
4. Sammy Sosa, 148 games, 1999
5. Sammy Sosa, 149 games, 1998
6. Babe Ruth, 154 games, 1927
7. Mark McGwire, 155 games, 1999
8. Sammy Sosa, 157 games, 2001
9. Roger Maris, 159 games, 1961
Fastest to 61 home runs (by team games)
T1. Barry Bonds, 144, 2001
T1. Mark McGwire, 144, 1998
3. Sammy Sosa, 149, 1999
4. Sammy Sosa, 150, 1998
5. Mark McGwire, 156, 1999
6. Sammy Sosa, 158, 2001
7. Roger Maris, 163, 1961
Fastest to 62 home runs (by team games)
1. Barry Bonds, 144, 2001
2. Mark McGwire, 145, 1998
3. Sammy Sosa, 150, 1998
T4. Mark McGwire, 157, 1999
T4. Sammy Sosa, 157, 1999
6. Sammy Sosa, 160, 2001
So, as you can see, what Judge is doing in 2022 is truly historic. He has nine games left to attempt to overtake Maris and set a new American League standard for single-season homer excellence. Judge will try to tie (and potentially break) the record on Tuesday night against the Blue Jays.
