After winning his third career (and second consecutive) American League MVP award, there isn’t much left for Aaron Judge to prove, at least in the regular season. The New York Yankees’ 16th captain is already a lock for the Hall of Fame, with seven All-Star appearances, 368 homers, and a 1.028 OPS over his illustrious nine-year career. Judge has also broken so many records since entering the league that it is almost impossible to keep count of them all. Of course, there’s his AL record-breaking 62 home-run season in 2022, but Judge also set the rookie record for home runs in a season with 52 (before Pete Alonso hit 53 as a rookie two years later).
There are plenty more records that belong to the reigning MVP, but what about the records that he has yet to break? In other words, after passing both Joe DiMaggio (361) and Yogi Berra (358) to become fourth on New York’s career home run list, what else does Judge have a chance to break next season? Here are five impressive career records (consisting of both league-wide and Yankee records) that Aaron Judge has a chance to beat in 2026.
Aaron Judge Has a Shot at Breaking 5 Records in 2026
5. Strikeouts (Yankees)
With 1,369 career K’s, Judge needs just 85 more to pass Jorge Posada for third place on New York’s all-time strikeout leaderboard. Though this stat doesn’t sound too complimentary, it’s important to note that strikeout rates have skyrocketed since the turn of the century, and especially within the last few years. Judge has actually lowered his strikeout rate almost every year since entering the league, going from 30.7% in 2017 to 23.6% last season, all the while not giving up any of his power in favor of more contact. So, the fact that he doesn’t own the most strikeouts in Yankees history is actually quite impressive.
4. Intentional Walks (Yankees)
Judge has led the American League in intentional walks (IBBs) each of the last two seasons, receiving 20 free passes in ‘24 and 36 last season. If this upward trend continues, Judge could become New York’s all-time leader in IBBs; however, he needs 33 to surpass Don Mattingly for first place (136) and Mickey Mantle for second (126). Judge will almost certainly become New York’s all-time leader; the only question is whether it will be in next season or the one after that.
3. Seasons With a 1.000+ OPS (MLB)
As aforementioned, Judge’s career OPS sits at 1.028, which puts him ahead of other all-time Yankee greats, including but not limited to Joe DiMaggio (.977 career OPS), Mantle (.977), and Alex Rodriguez (.930). If Judge is able to post an OPS above 1.000 for the fifth season in a row (six times total), then he will become the 22nd player ever, and first since Albert Pujols, to record six or more seasons with an OPS above the 1.000 mark. For context, Hank Aaron hit that mark in five of his 23 seasons, Ken Griffey Jr. did it four times, and Shohei Ohtani has done it three times.
Aaron Judge had three separate months with an OPS above 1.200 last year pic.twitter.com/qGnxHQxChX
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 3, 2026
2. Walks (Yankees)
Judge also has the chance to surpass not just one, not two, but three Yankees on the franchise’s all-time base-on-balls list. Having led the AL in walks four times, including 124 last season, Judge could easily pass Tony Lazzeri (830), Roy White (934), and Jorge Posada (936) if he gets 120 free passes next season.
Though this record might not initially sound very impressive, consider Judge’s company at numbers 11 and 9 on the list, who are Frankie Crosetti and Tony Lazzeri. Those two had 6,277 and 6,094 at-bats, respectively, compared to Judge’s 4,105; this means that Judge’s career walk total matches and surpasses players who had over 2,000 more ABs than him, which is pretty bizarre.
1. Most AL MVPs (MLB)
Arguably the most impressive record that Judge has a chance to collect is the elusive fourth MVP, which would be the most in AL history. It could be argued that Judge should already have four MVPs, though, since many (including his current teammate Cody Bellinger) believe that Jose Altuve did not deserve the MVP over Judge in 2017, and this was even before the Astros’ cheating scandal came to light.
Three MVPs are nothing to scoff at, but four? Four puts Judge in a league of his own, one that currently includes just two names: Ohtani and Bonds.
Main Photo Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
