⚾ Aaron Judge Becomes the Fastest to 350 Home Runs—So How High Can He Actually Climb?

Aaron Judge has once again etched his name into the MLB record books by becoming the fastest player in history to reach 350 career home runs, doing so in just 1,088 games—shattering Mark McGwire’s previous record of 1,280 games by nearly 200 games. This milestone came on July 12, 2025, when Judge crushed a towering two-run homer off Cubs reliever Brad Keller in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium.

What makes this achievement interesting?

Judge and McGwire actually have a weirdly wholesome connection off the field—they’ve bonded over rib injuries. So while Judge is passing Big Mac on the all-time list, they’re swapping stories about sneezing with busted ribs.

Projected Career Home Runs: How Many Will Aaron Judge Finish With?

Judge just turned 33, he’s at 350 career homers, and he’s still absolutely mashing—35 this year already. He’s locked in with the Yankees through 2031 on that monster nine-year, $360 million deal, so he’s in pinstripes until he’s 39. Power hitters like Judge can stay dangerous into their late 30s if they stay healthy, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Let’s play out a realistic home run projection:

• Judge’s current career average is 35 HR per season (350 HR in 10 seasons).

• In recent years, he’s averaged closer to 40 HR per year when healthy.

Projected Home Run Pace:

• Current HRs (2025): 350

  • Ages 34-35: 2 * 40 = 80

  • Ages 36-37: 2 * 30 = 60

  • Ages 38-39: 2 * 25 = 50

  • Projected Total: 540-560

    
    

Projected Career Home Runs: 540-560

If Judge stays healthy and productive, finishing with 540–560 career home runs is a strong projection. This would put him among the all-time greats, likely top 15-20 in MLB history, with names like Reggie Jackson (563), Manny Ramirez (555), Big Papi (541) and Mickey Mantle (536) and cement his legacy as one of the most prolific power hitters ever

The Big “What If?”

Here’s the part that’ll drive you nuts: Judge didn’t get his real MLB shot until he was 24. His breakout? Age 25, when he went nuclear with 52 bombs and took home Rookie of the Year. Most of the all-time home run kings started tallying up stats in their early 20s. If Judge had gotten the call at 21 or 22? We might be talking about 600 or more, easy.

Bottom line: Judge is already rewriting the record books, and he’s still got plenty of story left to tell. However high he climbs, just enjoy the show—because nobody’s ever done it quite like this.