All Rise for The Judge
For generations and continuing today, a historic Yankees legend has been the face of the vintage Baseball card hobby.
Is there a new Mickey Mantle donning those same pinstripes and ascending to that role in the modern hobby, one like Mantle figuratively larger than life while also literally towering over most of his peers at 6-foot-7? While Aaron Judge made history with his long balls as a rookie and more recently by breaking his league’s record for roundtrippers, in 2024 he’s BECOMING Baseball history.
Let’s look at the breathtaking numbers. This season for the ages has put his career to date into a new light. He became the quickest player ever to 300 homers based on the number of games played. From age 25 to his current age 32, he has the 10th most homers in MLB history. If that wasn’t impressive enough, his rate of clearing the fences once every 11.1 at-bats is second for all players in history this age, trailing only Babe Ruth (10.5). Ruth subsequently hit 298 homers. If Judge can match that, he’ll finish with over 600 career long balls, not including however more he hits in 2024.
Judge Better Than Ruth Since Age 30
Judge is not just a home run hitter. Since May 1, he’s hit .375. His OBP for the period is .507. That’s raised his on-base plus slugging percentage since his rookie season of 2017 to 1.021. Adjusted for his league and park, it’s 75% above average, that’s eighth best in the Live Ball Era. He’s trailing Mantle who was fifth-best in the same age range at 86% better than his league. But Judge is getting better. Since turning 30 in 2020, he’s a stunning 107% better than an average hitter. That’s the best in MLB history age 30-to-32 seasons, topping even Ruth (103% better).
What does it all mean for Judge’s cards?
“Judge is the most important player for collectors in the game right now, along with Shohei Ohtani,” said Joe Davis of Got Baseball Cards in Georgia. Davis said his company is a group submitter for PSA of about 10,000 cards per month from all over the globe. And it’s this international market that currently gives the edge to Ohtani, who is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season and is poised to return to the mound in 2025.
Their level of performance is unquestionable, Davis said. Who comes out ahead with collectors over the long haul is likely to be determined by their teammates as much as them.
“They both need titles,” Davis noted. “World Series rings. That’s what made Mantle such a legend. It has sustained the value of Derek Jeter cards. The home run records are nice but secondary right now.”
Whether Ohtani is better set up than Judge to become a fixture on the World Series championship stage is debatable. While the Dodgers are a perennial contender, the Yankees fly the most forever flags in Baseball history. But one has not been lifted in the Bronx since after the 2009 season.
Davis said that current Judge collectors should hope for another 60-homer year but that the bigger impact on value will come if he breaks his own league mark of 62. Davis observed that would make Judge the only player in MLB history with two 60-homer seasons and no accusations of steroid use, though Sammy Sosa (unlike Mark McGwire) has denied using them.
What happens if Ohtani, after his second major elbow injury, is unable to reclaim his status as one of the game’s most dominant pitchers?
“I don’t think Ohtani needs to pitch again because he’s an international superstar, all over the world,” Davis said.
Unlike in the time of Mantle, Baseball has become the International Pastime.
