Yankees' Aaron Judge joins Mark McGwire in history books with room to spare

The New York Yankees beat the Athletics 12-5 on Sunday to take the series. Jazz Chisholm Jr started the scoring for New York with a homer and bases-clearing triple. Once the gate was opened, Yankees captain Aaron Judge broke them down with two homers. The second was Judge’s 3oth of the year, marking the fourth time he’s reached that plateau before the All-Star Break. According to Katie Strang of Stathead, that puts Judge and Mark McGwire alone together in the history books.

“Players to hit 30+ HR before the All-Star Break 4 times in a career: Aaron Judge. Mark McGwire,” Strang posted. It came in response to a post by WFAN’s Emmanuel Berbari, who outlined the four times Judge has reached 30 before mid-July. “2017: 30, 2022: 33, 2024: 34, 2025: 30 (so far … ),” Berbari posted, in part.

The Yankees have gone cold offensively of late, and Judge has not been immune to that. From June 13 through Saturday, he was hitting .182 with a .690 OPS and just three homers. But a hot summer Sunday at the Stadium finally pushed Judge to 30. With 13 games to go before the All-Star Break, Judge could add to his total.

Article Continues BelowThe Yankees are still atop the American League East despite their 6-10 record since June 13. But the Tampa Bay Rays have closed the gap considerably and end Sunday just 1.5 games back. And this will all change this week, when the Yankees visit the Blue Jays for four games. Toronto is three games back.

As Judge goes, the Yankees go. When he was hitting .392 to start the year, they were 42-25. As Judge struggled in Boston and beyond, the team could not get off the ground. With big sets coming between now and the break, they hope Judge’s slump is over.

The Yankees visit the Blue Jays and Mets to start July, seven games that could change their entire season. Judge hopes to keep slugging as the weather heats up.

Christopher Hennessy is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints, with additional expertise in the NHL and golf. He graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022, and he has work experience at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders reporter.