Aaron Judge Is On Path To Break AL Home Run Record: Does Anyone Care?

It was only two seasons ago when New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge took the baseball world by storm as he eventually surpassed former Yankee Roger Maris' 61 single season AL home runs record with 62.

… And don't look now, but Judge is well on his way to doing it again! 

Yet, unless you're a Yankees fan, you probably don't even know about it. 

AARON JUDGE ON WAY TO ANOTHER HISTORIC YEAR

Tuesday night, Judge hit a missile over the left field wall in the Bronx to make it 32 homers on the year. With the MLB All-Star Game not taking place until July 16, Judge is well on his way to not only competing with but perhaps even breaking his 62 home-run record. 

Judge's 32 home-runs this season by July 2 is on a faster pace (by two weeks) than when he hit the same amount during the 2022 run.

FanDuel has him at +230 odds to hit 60 homers and +430 to break the record with 63 or more. 

But for some reason, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much buzz about Judge's potential historical run as there was just two seasons ago. On top of that - he's literally competing for the American League Triple Crown as he leads the AL in batting average at .321, home runs at 32 and RBIs at 83. 

WHY AREN'T MORE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT JUDGE?

Could it be fatigue? Judge has set the record and proved his dominance - is there less intrigue when a player breaks their own personal record? I'm thinking the Kobe Bryant era when he scored 60 points, then 70, then his personal best with 81 points in a single game. When you're that good, it almost comes with the expectation that you're going to go off.

You'd think Aaron Judge hitting absolute bombs into the outfield stands would be entertaining enough on its own. Yet in the baseball world there's been more conversation about Shohei Ohtani (for better or worse), the Baltimore Orioles as a whole and players like Gunnar Henderson, and at times even Juan Soto - who joined Judge and the Yankees this past offseason.

Ultimately, it may be that, because the casual baseball and sports fan doesn't fully embrace the sport until the playoff races in late August/September, that it may be too early for everyone to All Rise…