Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and History: MLB’s 2nd-Half Milestone Watch Begins Now

Major League Baseball: Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, and History – MLB’s 2nd-Half Milestone Watch Begins Now

Is your team already out of contention? Or perhaps you’re just a baseball history enthusiast? Maybe it’s both, and you’re looking for exciting milestones to follow aside from the postseason race. There are plenty of milestones, big and small, that MLB players are on track to achieve before the end of the 2025 season. We’ve gathered the most impressive ones for you here, from home runs and hits to potential records for the worst team ever. Let’s dive in!

Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge may not be on track to break a specific record, but he is having one of the greatest offensive seasons in MLB history. His performance is compelling enough to warrant its own section.

Judge has already hit 35 home runs, which puts him on pace for 59 by season’s end. That tally would mark the second-highest of his career; he previously set the American League record with 62 home runs in 2022. If he maintains this pace, he stands a solid chance of leading the league in home runs. jill178 Moreover, he would need to lead in homers to contend for a Triple Crown, an achievement still missing from his record.

Exiting the All-Star break, Judge leads the majors in batting average at .355, is second in home runs (three behind Cal Raleigh), and is also second in RBIs with 81 (just one behind Raleigh).

Additionally, he tops the slash stats for the Triple Crown – not recognized the same way, but impressive nonetheless – batting .355/.462/.733, leading both the AL and all of MLB.

It’s remarkable just how extraordinary Aaron Judge’s 2025 season has been. He has accumulated 258 total bases, leading the league and projecting to finish with 435. While he hasn’t yet recorded a season with 400 total bases – a feat accomplished only 30 times in MLB history – he only needs 420 to break into the top 10 all-time.

For reference, Shohei Ohtani’s 2024 season with 54 home runs and 99 extra-base hits placed him at 411 total bases, tied for 16th with Barry Bonds’ 2001 season (73 homers). With that context, Judge’s current pace of 435 total bases late in the season is phenomenal.

Speaking of extra-base hits, Judge has accrued 61 through 96 games, setting him on pace for 103. Hitting that mark would give him just the 16th season with at least 100 extra-base hits, tying him for sixth-most ever. Achieving 105 would place him firmly in the top five.

Judge has recorded 7.1 wins above replacement (WAR) according to Baseball Reference. He’s on track for 12 bWAR, which would rank as the sixth-highest ever recorded by a position player in a single season. He produced 10 ph6 casino.8 bWAR during each of his MVP-winning campaigns.

Cal Raleigh

Cal Raleigh deserves his own spotlight as well, currently leading the majors with 38 home runs. Having played in 94 of the Mariners’ 96 games, he is projected to finish with an impressive 65 home runs. If he reaches that number, it would set a new American League record, tying him for fourth all-time alongside Mark McGwire’s 1999 season. To surpass Judge and claim the AL single-season record, Raleigh needs to hit more than 62 home runs.

What is more likely, however, is Raleigh becoming the all-time home run leader for catchers. Salvador Perez set the record with 48 home runs in 2021, a mark that Raleigh is just 10 dingers away from matching with plenty of games yet to play. Should he lead the majors like Perez did, it would be a rarity; only Johnny Bench has led in home runs for catchers more than once (1970, 1972).

Raleigh also has a shot at tying Mickey Mantle’s record for most home runs by a switch-hitter in a season: 54 in 1961. While 63 may be ambitious, even attaining 50 would be a historical achievement for a switch-hitting catcher.

Home Run/Stolen Bases Club

Pete Crow-Armstrong is another standout, already contributing 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases through 95 games. He’s on pace for 42 home runs and 46 steals, which would make him only the seventh player to join the exclusive 40/40 club alongside legends like Shohei Ohtani and Barry Bonds.

Bobby Witt Jr. is aiming for his third consecutive 30/30 season, needing to maintain his power momentum and currently boasting 25 steals. Jose Ramirez, meanwhile, has 18 home runs and 29 steals, positioning him for a career-high of 50 steals this season.

Oneil Cruz, though having played in only 85 games, is also on pace for personal bests with 28 homers and 51 steals. Elly De La Cruz has yet to miss a game for the Reds, hitting 18 home runs and projected to finish with 42 steals.

The Rockies

The Rockies have struggled immensely with a record of 22-74, projecting a historic 37-125 season that would set a record for most losses, surpassing the 2024 White Sox. Their current .229 winning percentage has them on track for the worst record in MLB history, with the Philadelphia Athletics’ .235 percentage from 1916 leading that category.

Home Runs

As the league re-emerges from the All-Star break, five players have hit over 30 home runs: Cal Raleigh (38), Aaron Judge (35), Shohei Ohtani (32), Eugenio Suarez (31), and Kyle Schwarber (30). If all five hit at least 50 home runs, it would mark the first time in MLB history for five players to reach this feat.

In the past, only 1998 and 2001 have seen four players hit over 50 home runs, with both years featuring multiple players exceeding 60. Mark McGwire led the charge with 70 in ‘98, followed by Sammy Sosa’s 66, and in ‘01, Barry Bonds hit 73 with Sosa again in second at 64.

In MLB’s extensive history, there have been only 13 seasons with more than one player hitting 50 homers. Currently, 32 players have reached this milestone at least once, with only 10 achieving it more than once.

Mike Trout is close to the 400 career home run milestone, needing just five more. Bryce Harper sits at 350, requiring four to reach that mark cassino brasil. Meanwhile, Carlos Santana is 15 away from the same milestone, indicating he may have to wait until 2026 to achieve it as he sits at 11 for the year.

Giancarlo Stanton has 433 homers, ranking 50th all-time. If he hits eight more, he would surpass Jason Giambi for 44th place. Paul Goldschmidt, at 370, could move up to 75th overall with another 10 homers, although he has only hit eight this year.

Nolan Arenado, Aaron Judge, and Bryce Harper are also approaching the top 100 in career home runs, with Arenado needing just one more to surge ahead while Judge and Harper need two and six respectively. If they all reach 355, and Freddie Freeman adds two more, they will push Luis Gonzalez and others out of the top 100.

Contextually, it’s significant to measure top-100 stature in MLB, given that over 23,500 players have appeared in games since 2025. Hitting the top 100 signifies an incredible level of achievement in league history.

Runs

Christian Yelich is on the brink of 1,000 runs, needing just six more, while Nolan Arenado is 17 away. Francisco Lindor is further off at 957, but on pace for 107 — he could make it. Marcus Semien trails by three runs. Jose Ramirez has a bit more ground to cover, sitting at 48 runs short, which could be challenging given the Guardians’ struggles offensively.

Freddie Freeman has amassed 1,344 runs, putting him just 42 away from Lou Whitaker for a tie at 100th all-time. mga laro While a long shot, a strong finish could get them there.

Hits

Trea Turner has collected 1,464 hits, needing 36 more to reach 1,500. Amed Rosario stands four hits shy of 1,000, while Kyle Schwarber is just eight away. Shohei Ohtani, combining his careers in Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB, is at 1,277, needing another 20 for his 1,000th MLB hit.

RBIs

Paul Goldschmidt is looking to reach 1,250 RBIs, needing 27 more to land at 137th all-time. Mike Trout is five away from 1,000, while Salvador Perez is 30 short of the same milestone. Freddie Freeman requires 45 RBIs to enter MLB’s top 100, holding 1,281 currently.

Times on Base

Freddie Freeman has reached base 3,514 times in his career, with another 28 putting him in the top 100, tying him with Brett Butler. Andrew McCutchen needs 67 more to join him.

Doubles

Nick Castellanos is six doubles away from 400, a threshold achieved by just 198 players. If Paul Goldschmidt manages to reach 37 doubles this year, he would jump from 92nd all-time to 81st. Freddie Freeman is already 43rd in history with 533 doubles, aiming for another 44 this season, which would allow him to move ahead of Chipper Jones and others.

Walks

In addition, if Freeman accumulates 26 more walks — he has 33 — he’ll make MLB’s top 100 in that statistic, tying Bernie Williams.

Stolen Bases

Starling Marte leads active players in steals with 359, needing four more this season to tie for 100th in MLB history with Hal Chase. On the other hand, Jose Ramirez’s 300 career steals could be an early 2026 milestone as he’s projected for 21 before year-end.

Wins

Justin Verlander currently has 262 career wins, ranking 41st all-time and has been stuck on that number all season with a 0-7 record 226 vipph login. He could vault into the top 40 with a few wins in the season’s second half. Max Scherzer recently returned from injury, tied for 85th with 217 wins. Another six could create a tie for 75th. Clayton Kershaw is one behind, and pitcher wins remain increasingly rare.

Strikeouts

While Verlander struggles for wins, he’s still pitching well, on the verge of reaching 3,500 career strikeouts. Only nine pitchers in history have done so. Scherzer, needing 69 more, could impact the top ten, behind Verlander’s moving target.

Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young winner and a favorite for the 2025 award, leads in both strikeouts and walks per nine innings. No qualified pitcher has achieved this double feat in the same year. Skubal has a slight edge over Zack Wheeler in K/9 and more in walks per nine.

What milestones are you most excited to follow for the remainder of the season?