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On Saturday afternoon, New York Yankees slugger and baseball’s best hitter, Aaron Judge, became the fastest player to 350 home runs, having done so in 1,088 games.
This surpasses the record set by Mark McGwire, who sits at a distant second in the race to 350 with a total of 1,280 games. Already the fastest player to 300 home runs, it comes as no surprise that Judge was just as quick to tack on another 50. However, what is lost in his new record is his rapid pace when compared to the full careers of a few all-time greats.
Not every historical slugger started their career on a historical pace. None of the three members of the 700-home run club even place in the top six in the race to 350. With that said, we know how Judge’s home run rate has fared to start his career, but how is he faring against history’s three most rapid home run hitters?
To compare the home run rates of these four titans, we’ll use the advanced stat at-bats per home run (AB/HR). For instance, an AB/HR number of 20.0 would mean a hitter mashed a home run once in every 20 at-bats on average, giving us a fair number to make comparisons since it doesn’t track long balls by the number of games or plate appearances, thus excluding every time Barry Bonds was awarded first base for free. Below is the AB/HR ratio for the top three in this stat, in addition to Judge:
Rank in AB/HR all-time
Player
Career AB
Career HR
Career AB/HR
1
Mark McGwire
6,187
583
10.61
2
Aaron Judge
3,913
350
11.18
3
Babe Ruth
8,399
714
11.76
4
Barry Bonds
9,847
762
12.92
*Judge’s 11.18 AB/HR is not listed on the MLB.com leaderboards since his 3,913 at-bats are not qualifying
As it turns out, Judge’s current pace is the second fastest in the history of the game. McGwire’s 10.61 AB/HR holds the record, though his lack of longevity prevented him from reaching 700 home runs or even 600. The fact that Judge is hitting home runs at a rate faster than Bonds and Ruth is very significant. Of course, there are a couple of caveats.
For one, there is the slowdown that McGwire, Ruth and Bonds experienced toward the end of their respective careers. This is one disadvantage Judge is yet to experience. And in Ruth’s case, there is also the disadvantage of playing in the 1910s. Ruth started his career in the Deadball Era, a time that was unfriendly to hitters.
Judge may never hit 70 home runs in a season like Bonds or McGwire; still, he is in elite company. If he can keep mashing, Judge might be the next player to reach 700 home runs, assuming he plays long enough.
