Aaron Judge’s pursuit of .400 has been a hot topic in the first half of the MLB season.
But the New York Yankees superstar has a chance to do something even rarer than reaching that mark.
There have been 36 seasons with a .400 or better batting average in MLB history.
There have only been 17 Triple Crown seasons.
Judge, through June 13, leads the American League in average (.390), RBI (60) and is tied for the lead in home runs (26).
The last hitting Triple Crown winner was Miguel Cabrera in 2012, and before that, it was Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
Judge looks like he’ll have one main batting average contender. Athletics rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson is a contact wizard and is batting .367 up to this point.
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RBI is a tricky stat to predict, and it’ll likely be a close race to the end. Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers is second in the AL with 57 RBI right now.
Home runs will be difficult given the pace of Cal Raleigh, who is currently tied with Judge at 26. Raleigh is having the best power-hitting season by a catcher ever. Judge’s best hope in the HR category might be that squatting every day should slow Raleigh down just a bit.
To be considered a Triple Crown winner, you only have to lead your league in these three stats, not both leagues. Although right now, Judge leads all of MLB in average, is tied with Raleigh for the MLB lead in homers and is three RBI behind Mets slugger Pete Alonso.
All told, it’s been a magical, amazing season so far for Judge. And hopefully it continues, because there’s history in his sights.
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