“3.5 Big Leaguers Better” Aaron Judge’s Absurd Form Continues to Astound Analysts as Comparisons With Barry Bonds Gain Momentum

What can you say about Aaron Judge that hasn’t already been said? Since the day he has set foot in the league, the New York Yankees captain has consistently been one of the best players. However, since the turn 2020s, Judge has slowly proved himself to be a generational talent. So when in 2022 he broke the AL Home run record, fans wondered whether that’d be his peak. Well! As of now, Judge is doing even better than what he did in 2022.

Yes, in total home runs he’s currently below that year, one needs to remember that Judge was in a massive slump for the whole of April. That’s what makes All Rise’s current rise so head-scratching. He gave the league a one-month headstart but somehow he’s again on top of almost every hitting metric! How is that possible? Top analyst Mark DeRosa too wondered the same during his analysis.

“He’s 3.5 big leaguers better than everyone else,” DeRosa said about Aaron Judge. “I don’t think there’s but one player – maybe Ohtani, certainly if he’s pitching that can do what he (Judge) can.” DeRosa, of course, said this while referring to Aaron Judge’s numbers which completely eclipsed the best in the league. How big are his numbers? Here’s a hint – he’s been averaging .421 since May 4th.

May 4th has turned out to be a major turning point for Judge. It was the day All Rise was ejected for the first time in his career. Ever since then, he’s played in 33 games and hit 14 first-base hits, 15 second-base, 1 third-base. On top of that, he’s had 18 home runs! 31 walks and a 1.588 OPS. Those are frankly historical numbers. 

The last time we saw something this explosive consistently was in the early 2000s when Barry Bonds ruled the roost. So is it surprising that the two are already facing comparisons?

Is Aaron Judge the best since Barry Bonds? 

Here’s an interesting stat – Aaron Judge has a wRC+ of 214 in 2024. Not one player other than Barry Bonds has had a number higher or even matching this one. From 2001 to 2004, Barry Bonds was in an absolute tear. It was perhaps the most dominant hitting performance baseball has ever seen (though a giant asterisk is now attached to it). For Judge to even come close to it is an achievement in itself.

But that’s not enough, per Baseball-Reference Aaron Judge currently has 5 WAR in 67 games. If he holds on to this pace, he’d be on pace to touch the 12 WAR mark by the end of the season. In his entire career, Barry Bonds never went above 11.9 WAR in a season. And that’s just an absurd number which once again proves just how generational this New York Yankees captain is. Never did fans dream that a player would rival Bonds’ numbers in this era but All Rise may have done the impossible. But can he sustain it?