Yankees: Aaron Judge home and away numbers will surprise you

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees doesn’t just rely on the comfort of home to produce.

You would not have to watch too many videos of the New York Yankees to come across comments claiming Yankee Stadium is nothing more than “a Little League ballpark” as former Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward said earlier this year. There are also plenty of comments saying that Judge would not have nearly as many home runs if he played somewhere else 81 times a year.

The majority of these so-called “experts” would use the short right field (also known as the short porch) to back up their claims. It’s true that 314 feet is short in terms of professional ballparks and would even come up short compared to many high school fields. However, what people fail to realize is Judge simply doesn’t care.

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees has better numbers away from Yankee Stadium

With all of the criticism of Yankee Stadium, don’t forget that the Houston Astros play in a park where the Crawford Boxes jet out almost all the way to left-center. That’s just one example. Every stadium has its own unique dimensions (look no further than Fenway Park with Pesky’s Pole).

Before I break down Judge’s 2022 season, during his rookie year in 2016, Judge hit 52 home runs and only one was a product of the “short porch.”

Let’s move on to the 2022 regular season. Through games of September 19, Judge is not only chasing home run history but has a legitimate chance to win the American League triple crown. What might come as a surprise to you is how he has arrived to this point. He has put together numbers on the road that are similar to his numbers at home in numerous aspects but, ultimately, he has been more productive on the road.

Let’s start with the obvious statistic of Judge’s home runs. At home, he has hit 29 while hitting 30 on the road.

Plate appearances / At-bats
Home — 311/263
Away — 320/262

Slash line
Home — .316/.408/.684
Road — .317/.431/.718

I can honestly only chuckle when I look at the OPS home or away because of the absolute insane production numbers Judge has put together this season. At home, his OPS is a meager 1.092 compared to the 1.149 OPS he has on the road. He has the same number of hits (83) home and away, along with the same number of runs (61) home and away. Finally, his RBI total at home is 59 while he has 68 on the road.

It’s hard to believe that the postseason is almost upon us, but the regular season Aaron Judge is having will be talked about and replayed for decades to come.

I have more thoughts on Judge’s numbers home and away in this video.