Aaron Judge Ties Derek Jeter on New York Yankees' All-Time Home Run Leaderboards
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge just crushed the 260th home run of his career, moving him into a tie with Derek Jeter for ninth-most in franchise history.
Aaron Judge has been blasting moonshots ever since he broke into the big leagues in 2016, but the one he hit Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians held special meaning.
In the game itself, Judge's 450-foot, three-run home run put the New York Yankees on top 3-0. New York went on to lose 8-7 in extra innings, but on a grander scale, Judge's third-inning homer meant so much more.
Judge has now hit 260 home runs in his MLB career, all of which have been for the Yankees. His latest moved him into a tie with shortstop Derek Jeter for ninth-most in franchise history.
Jeter spent his entire 20-year career with the Yankees, winning five World Series titles along the way. The 14-time All-Star racked up 3,465 hits and a 71.3 WAR during his time in the Bronx, batting .310 with an .817 OPS between 1995 and 2014.
Like Jeter before him, Judge is the Yankees' captain – a position he has held since 2023 and will presumably retain until his contract expires in 2031.
Judge only needed 851 games in a Yankees uniform to reach 260 home runs, as opposed to the 2,747 that Jeter played. Last season, Judge broke into the top 10 on the Yankees' all-time home run leaderboards when he passed Graig Nettles' 250.
Taking into account his three homers so far in 2024, as well as his average of 41 homers per non-COVID season in his career, Judge could end the year with just shy of 300 bombs. But considering he broke the AL record with 62 home runs in 2022, Judge could join that club as soon as this fall.
The next home run Judge hits will give him sole possession of the No. 9 spot, bumping Jeter down to No. 10. Judge's .207 batting average so far this season leaves much to be desired, but the soon-to-be 32-year-old still boasts an .821 OPS.
Next up on the list above Judge and Jeter are catcher Jorge Posada and outfielder Bernie Williams. The former hit 275 home runs in his career, while the latter hit 287, and both were also lifetime Yankees.
Judge should pass both Posada and Williams by the end of 2024, which would put him at No. 7 in Yankees history behind third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his 351 homers. The top five is made up of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra, all of whom are Hall of Famers.
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