“In the Middle of Greatness”: Aaron Judge’s June Blasts 464-Foot Homer, Capping a Month of Dominance Across 15 MLB Stats

The month of May belonged to Aaron Judge. The pitchers’ perennial nightmare has been wielding his bat like a mythical weapon, leaving scorched earth and shattered records in his wake. As June dawned—not only Yankees faithful—but the entire baseball world held its breath, wondering if the inferno would continue. Yesterday’s 464-foot missile into the San Francisco night that nearly kissed the iconic Coke bottle answered that question with a resounding boom.

“Arson Judge” is back.

The captain’s May Mayhem was not just “good,” as he so humbly likes to put it. It has been a symphony of power and precision, a masterclass in hitting that has left statisticians scrambling to update their record books and databases every other second. In a single calendar month, Judge amassed 14 home runs and 12 doubles, a feat matched only by Albert Belle in MLB history.

Setting the first-time-ever record for only such an instance to ever occur in May, his 26 extra-base hits tied him with Babe Ruth for the third-most in a single month by a Yankee—trailing only legends Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig.

Not even his terrorizing rookie year dominance has shown such powerful form since the All-Rise’s career took off.

“(We) appreciate it, because we’re in the middle of greatness,” teammate Anthony Rizzo declared to The Post after Aaron Judge’s two-homer perfection against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, the ballpark where his childhood dreams of taming the ball were first ignited.

The June homer, a majestic arc against Giants’ ace Logan Webb, was not just another dinger. It was a statement of intent, a reminder that this 32-year-old inferno is far from extinguished. “He’s in such a good place,” skipper Aaron Boone marveled. “When he gets hot and hits it off the barrel, it’s in the seats.” The numbers themselves tell a tale of sheer dominance.

Right at this very moment, Judge is currently leading the entire MLB in 15 hitting and batting categories—a testament to his all-around offensive prowess. His Home Run count of 21 for 2024—a league-leading figure—is on the pace to shatter his own American League single-season record. Reigning supreme in 46 Walks, .657 Slug Rate, an OPS of 1.067, Adjusted OPS+ of 198 and 39 Extra-Base Hits, he tops the leaderboards in several other categories, per Baseball Reference.

With the All-Rise’s Offensive WAR (3.7), number of Total Bases (142 now, his 90 TB in May in a single calendar month is the first to ever happen since Don Mattingly’s record in ‘85), Runs Created (tied with Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto at 57 at first), Adjusted Batting Runs (30), Adjusted Batting Wins (3.0), Double Plays Grounded Into (tied with Josh Bell at 11 at first), lowest number of required At-Bats per Home Run (10.30), and Situational Wins Added (2.8), his Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+), a metric measuring overall offensive value, stands at a staggering 195, further solidifying his position as the game’s premier—if not the most elite—hitter of this era. And he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Aaron Judge’s one-man orchestra of offensive dominance leads to resurgent Yankees squad

“This is really becoming ridiculous,” a YES Network commentator exclaimed during the last game. “Like, this is some kind of pace that he has put together!” Indeed, the pace is torrid, with Judgey on track to hit 57 home runs this season—a number that would etch his name even deeper into the New York Yankees’ lore.

But the captain’s impact extends beyond the box score. His presence has been instrumental to the Bombers’ success this season, leading them to a 21-7 record last month. The Yankees, buoyed by their leader’s heroics, haven’t lost a single series in May, which in turn lets them currently hold the best record in baseball, along with the crown of being the only team to have such a massive May Manifesto in the history of MLB.

“As he goes, we go.” Rizzo quite aptly summarized the entire organization’s sentiment for their team’s trailblazer.

Yet, amidst this storm of superlatives, Aaron Judge remains grounded, focused on the team’s success rather than individual accolades. “I’ve got a job to do, every team we play,” he said a day after his San Francisco homecoming. “Yeah, nothing different.”

Judge’s humility and work ethic are as much a part of his legend as are his mammoth home runs. In slow but sure paces, he is becoming a throwback to a bygone Yankees era of golden glories and evil empires—that brand of player who values team over self, that quintessential Yankee leader who leads by example.

“It’s hard to wrap your brain around that, what he’s doing… He’s so consistent with who he is as a person, as a player and the way he goes about it.” Boone couldn’t stop gushing about his captain. “It’s just fun to get to watch it.”

As June unfolds, the baseball world will continue to watch, captivated by the spectacle of a player who seems to redefine the limits of possible human greatness with each swing. If May was any indication, Arson Judge’s inferno is far from over. The question now is not whether Aaron Judge will continue to dominate; it’s how high he will set the bar for himself, his opponents, and his teammates—and for generations of players to come trying to become him.