Opening Day for the 2024 MLB season is finally upon us. While teams vie for the chance to win the World Series, their players are vying to make baseball history. These are the milestones that stand between some of the league’s brightest stars and the record books. All of these milestones are within reach for the 2024 MLB season.
Notable MLB Milestones That Could Be Reached In 2024
Aaron Judge: 43 Home Runs to 300
Aaron Judge has been breaking records since he debuted with the New York Yankees in 2016. His 52 home runs in 2017 broke the MLB rookie record of 49 set by Mark McGwire and the Yankees full-season rookie record of 29 set by Joe DiMaggio. Judge was also the first rookie to win the Home Run Derby in MLB history. In 2022, Judge hit 62 home runs, breaking the AL single-season record for home runs set by fellow Yankee Roger Maris in 1961. The five-time All-Star has 257 career home runs and is 43 home runs away from reaching 300 career home runs.
Mike Trout: 32 Home Runs to 400
Mike Trout is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Trout is an 11-time All-Star, a nine-time Silver Slugger winner, and a three-time AL MVP while finishing second four times. Over his 13-year career, Mike Trout has hit 368 home runs and ranks 84th in MLB career home runs. Trout is currently 32 home runs away from reaching 400 career home runs. With his first home run this season, he would tie Ralph Kiner and Todd Helton for 82nd all-time (369). Once he reaches the 400 career home run milestone, he will surpass Al Kaline and Andrés Galarraga for 59th all-time.
Mike Trout needs 32 home runs to get to 400 for his MLB career. Will he hit his 400th home run in 2024? pic.twitter.com/bzp6OjtA16
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 26, 2024
Juan Soto: 29 Walks to Most Walks All-Time By A Player Under 26 Years Old
It’s hard to believe that Juan Soto is only 25 years old, but he is. Soto was just 19 years old when he made his major league debut for the Washington Nationals in 2018. He became the first MLB player born in 1998 to appear in a major league game after his 2018 debut. Soto set multiple records during the first six years of his career. He holds the record as the only teenager in MLB history to walk more than 60 times in a season. In 2021, Soto joined Ted Williams as the only players in MLB history to lead the league in on-base percentage multiple times by age 22. His 145 walks that season trailed only Barry Bonds, who set the single-season walk record in 2004 with 232. The three-time All-Star has long been called one of the most disciplined batters in the league with 640 career walks. Soto is 29 walks away from holding the MLB record for most career walks by a player under 26.
Spencer Strider: 17 Strikeouts to 500
Spencer Strider started the 2022 season coming out of the Atlanta Braves bullpen, but moved into the starting rotation in May and has been breaking records ever since. In his rookie season, Strider broke the franchise record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game (16). He was the first rookie in the modern franchise era to record 200 strikeouts in a single season. Strider also became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 200 season strikeouts, reaching the milestone in 130 innings. He surpassed Jacob deGrom as the fastest pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts last season, reaching the milestone in 61 innings. Strider was the MLB strikeout leader in 2023 (281) surpassing his own record by reaching 200 strikeouts in 123 1/3 innings. He has 483 career strikeouts in his young career and needs 17 strikeouts to reach the 500 career strikeout milestone.
Corbin Burnes: 130 Strikeouts to 1,000
Corbin Burnes made his major league debut coming out of the bullpen for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018. He moved into the starting rotation full-time during the shortened 2020 season and has since become a bona fide ace. Burnes won the NL Cy Young in 2021 after leading the league in multiple categories including ERA, strikeouts per nine innings, and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He began his Cy Young season setting the MLB record for most strikeouts (58) without a walk to begin a season. The three-time All-Star has recorded 200 strikeouts for the past three seasons, leading the National League with 243 in 2022. Now the Baltimore Orioles’ new ace, Burnes has 870 career strikeouts and is 130 strikeouts away from reaching 1,000 for his career.
Clayton Kershaw: 56 Strikeouts to 3,000
Clayton Kershaw is a Dodgers legend and arguably one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Kershaw debuted with the Dodgers in 2008 and has won nearly every award in baseball during his 16-year career. The three-time Cy Young winner has led the NL in strikeouts three times and led the entire MLB in 2015. Kershaw has amassed 2,944 strikeouts over his career averaging 184 strikeouts per season and a 27.6% strikeout percentage. The future Hall of Famer is currently ranked 21st on the all-time strikeout leaders, sitting 35 strikeouts behind Zack Greinke. Kershaw needs just 56 strikeouts in 2024 to reach the milestone of 3,000 MLB strikeouts, joining Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander as the only active pitchers with that many career strikeouts.
Photo Credit: © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
