One of the ways in which we’ve always measured the dominance of a great player is to look at the gap between him and his contemporaries. In Aaron Judge’s case, he’s separating himself from the competition to an extent that’s alarming.
To wit;
By overall play (fWAR), Zach McKinstry is the 38th best player in baseball so far in 2025. The gap between him and the second-best player (Fernando Tatis, Jr.) is closer than the gap between Tatis and Judge.
By batting alone (wRC+), Pete Crow-Armstrong is the 42nd best hitter in MLB. And he’s closer to the second-best hitter (Pete Alonso) than Alonso is to Judge.
In the division era (the time that many believe baseball was close to fully integrated) only eight players produced 10 or more fWAR in a season. Joe Morgan, Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken Jr., Mookie Betts, and Bobby Witt Jr. all accomplished that feat. Barry Bonds (five), Mike Trout (two), and Judge (two) are the only players to do it more than once. Bonds’ 12.7 fWAR in 2002 stands as the highest single season total.
One quarter of the way through the 2025 season, Judge is on pace for 15.4 fWAR.
Yes, I understand that we’re only at the quarter pole of the season, but Judge has been this dominant for over a calendar year now, and as noted above, has already produced two double digit fWAR seasons – we’re far past the “this might be a fluke” stage of the discussion.
Judge will have his hands full over the next three games as the Yankees will be in Seattle through Wednesday. Fun fact: T-Mobile Park puts a drag on offensive numbers similar in degree to the boost Coors Field in Denver gives to hitters.
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Recommended reading: “Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig”.
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