Aaron Judge became the quickest player in history to reach 300 home runs during the New York Yankees’ 10-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
Judge achieved this milestone in his 955th game and 3,431st at-bat, launching a three-run homer in the eighth inning. The six-time All-Star and 2022 AL MVP crushed a 3-0 sinker from Chad Kuhl into the White Sox bullpen, marking his league-leading 43rd home run.
Ralph Kiner previously reached 300 home runs in his 1,087th game, while Babe Ruth did so in his 3,831st at-bat.
“What Aaron’s doing puts him in a class with only a select few in the history of the game,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “He’s not just a great player, but a great leader, and everyone’s thrilled that he got it done.” The White Sox had intentionally walked Juan Soto to face Judge, who hadn’t homered on a 3-0 pitch since 2021.
Soto had earlier hit a home run in the first inning off Davis Martin, his fourth homer in two games and 34th of the season.
Austin Wells followed Judge’s homer with one of his own, making it the eighth time this season the Yankees hit back-to-back homers. Wells also drove in two runs with a single in the seventh inning, giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead.
Gavin Sheets hit his first major league home run to the opposite field leading off the second inning against rookie Will Warren and added a single in the fourth to give the White Sox a brief 2-1 lead. However, the White Sox suffered their 26th loss in 28 games, dropping their 12th consecutive series and falling to a dismal 29-93 record.
The White Sox are on track to finish with 39 wins and 123 losses, which would be the most losses since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders went 20-134.