Will Aaron Judge Be 1st to Hit .400 Since 1941 & Break 84-Year-Old MLB Record?

Aaron Judge is looking to do the unthinkable this season and become the first MLB player since Ted Williams in 1941 to bat .400 over an entire regular season. He sits at an otherworldly .391 after 55 games, though no hitter has been able to come especially close since the turn of the millennium. Will Judge make history in 2025, or is this an achievement we'll simply never see again?

Let's dive into Judge's stats thus far, the history of the .400 batting average club, and what bets you can make on the New York Yankees slugger.

🔮 Will Aaron Judge hit .400 this year?

As previously mentioned, Judge is hitting an absurd .391 through his first 55 games. Despite many baseball fans believing Yankee Stadium is somewhat of a cheat code for hitters, Judge has actually excelled on the road to this point. He owns a .417 average away from The Bronx.

Judge's impressive average isn't especially surprising for those who followed his 2024 campaign. He hit .347 across 62 games in the second half of the season as he barreled toward the finish line of his second AL MVP Award.

In 96 games during the first half of last season, Judge walked 72 times, six of which were of the intentional variety. During those 62 second-half contests, opposing teams walked him 61 times, giving him the intentional free pass 14 times.

I expect similar results for the rest of this campaign, which will help the average just as it did last year. Will it be enough for Judge to hit .400, though? That remains to be seen.

The slugger is projected to bat anywhere from .280 to .310 for the rest of the season. So though it would seem unlikely based on that information, are the +15000 odds at BetMGM too enticing to ignore?

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💰 BetMGM reporting significant betting action on Aaron Judge to hit .400

BetMGM previously listed Judge to hit .400 at +17500 odds, so it's shortened of late. The sportsbook reports that a bettor put $2,000 on Judge to hit .400 when it was priced at +17500, which would result in a profit of $350,000 if he does so.

"We get more action on MLB achievement props than any other sport," said BetMGM trading manager Hal Egeland.

He added: "MLB’s historic numbers seem to have more significance for the public in general, even beyond betting. So these key numbers, like 62 home runs or a .400 batting average, stick in people's minds and draw more interest than, say, LeBron James breaking the points record. If there was ever a case where there's a player bidding for the home run record, I would imagine we would take a massive amount of handle on that."

⚾ Which MLB players have hit .400?

The last player to hit .400 or better was Ted Williams, who did so in 1941. In total, only 13 players have managed the feat since 1900, and it's very telling that those all came in 41 years and it hasn't happened in the 83 years since.

Ichiro Suzuki was the last player to truly challenge this mark, as he managed a .372 average in 2004. Both Todd Helton and Nomar Garciaparra matched that average in 2000, making them the only three players to bat .370 or better since the turn of the millennium.

We recently saw Luis Arraez put forth his best effort to chase history, as he hit .354 in 2023. He managed a .383 average in the first half of the season before regressing in the second half. If arguably the best pure hitter in baseball - in terms of recording base hits - can't do it, can a slugger like Judge?

As you can see, the only player who was really behind the eight-ball at this point in their campaign was Ichiro, who hit just .340 through his first 55 games but batted .389 in the remaining 106. Judge is hanging around with Nomar and Arraez through 55 games, but, of course, they didn't finish with a .400 average.

🎟️ Bet on Judge, the Yankees

The market most prominently featuring Judge is, of course, the MLB MVP odds. Judge is such a massive favorite that you're essentially betting on him to get injured if you fade him at this point.

Besides betting on Judge to win AL MVP, you can also place wagers on him to lead the league in home runs or even lead in the three "classic" statistical categories and earn the Triple Crown (batting average, home runs, RBIs).

For the former, BetMGM offers Judge to lead the league in home runs at +100 as the favorite. I find that interesting because he isn't even leading the league right now. I'd look at players like Shohei Ohtani (+165), Kyle Schwarber (+550), or Cal Raleigh (+1200) in that market instead.

Meanwhile, Caesars offers the best price on Judge to win the Triple Crown at +180.

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