You don’t need a breaking news alert to know that Aaron Judge is good at baseball. He’s been the engine of the New York Yankees for years—part freight train, part scalpel—bludgeoning baseballs with brute force and slicing up pitchers with patience and precision.
But here’s the thing: even as we nod knowingly at his greatness, we may still be underselling what he’s doing.
The April That Broke Baseball
Let’s talk about April—Judge’s version of a spring cleaning involved dusting off every American League record book and leaving it in shambles.
According to Opta Stats, before 2025, no AL player had ever notched 50 hits before May. Nobody had reached base 70 times, and certainly no one had racked up 85 total bases in that span. Judge did all three. That’s not just a hot start; that’s a bonfire.
Prior to 2025, no AL player had ever collected 50 hits in a season before May. Neither had an AL player reached base 70 times (H/BB/HBP) before May, nor amassed 85 total bases before May.
Aaron Judge of the @Yankees did all three this year. pic.twitter.com/MKYRe4VXhZ
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 1, 2025
It’s as if Judge strolled into the season saying, “Let’s see what happens if I don’t make outs,” and then… he just didn’t. He turned every plate appearance into a masterclass in discipline, contact, and raw, unfiltered power. The man doesn’t just hit baseballs—he sends them on sabbaticals.
Better Than Peak Judge? Apparently, Yes
We’ve seen ridiculous versions of Judge before. 2022 gave us a .311 average and 62 homers, a season so absurd it felt like a video game glitch.
Then came 2024, when he upped his average to .322 and posted a wRC+ of 218—officially the best offensive season ever by a right-handed hitter.
Now, in 2025, he’s looking at those seasons in the rearview mirror. He’s hitting .427 with a wRC+ of 262. That number isn’t just high—it’s uncharted territory.
At this point, it seems like Judge decided the game wasn’t hard enough and added “hit .400 for fun” to his list of spring goals.
A Relentless Prime
Judge’s prime isn’t a peak; it’s a plateau in the clouds. While most sluggers ride a rollercoaster of form and injury, Judge is like a luxury cruise ship—steady, powerful, and built for the long haul.
He’s not just the best right-handed hitter in the league right now. There’s a real, increasingly hard-to-ignore case that he might be the best right-handed hitter ever.
So sure, we all know he’s good. But every so often, it’s worth stopping and really appreciating what we’re seeing. Because Aaron Judge isn’t just carrying the Yankees—he’s bending the sport to his will.