Alex Rodriguez did not hesitate when asked about Aaron Judge. Speaking in an interview with WFAN, Rodriguez called Judge the best player in the game and said the Yankees captain is building a case as one of the top five right-handed hitters to ever play.
Rodriguez pointed to the full package Judge brings every night: power, contact, batting average, Gold Glove-like defense and durability. He said that in an era that often rewards strikeouts and lower averages, Judge is producing in every way that matters.
The numbers back up the praise. Judge is batting.268 with 42 hits, 16 home runs, 30 RBIs, 36 runs and five stolen bases in 44 games. Over his first 1,188 games, all in his 11th season with the New York Yankees, the 2013 first-round pick has hit.293 with 1,247 hits, 384 home runs, 860 RBIs, 909 runs and 70 stolen bases. He has also won three MVP awards.
Judge’s current run adds to a résumé that already places him among the sport’s most decorated active stars. On Sept. 24, 2025, ’s SportsCenter reported that he reached 50 homers in a season for the fourth time, putting him alongside Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa for the most 50-homer seasons in major league history.
Rodriguez’s praise carries weight because he knows the Yankees standard as well as almost anyone. He helped lead New York to the 2009 World Series championship and is widely regarded as one of the best hitters ever across 22 seasons. Judge, by contrast, has piled up the individual honors but still has not won a title, leaving the lone gap in a career that already looks headed for Cooperstown.
The Yankees had Thursday off after their three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles, and they were scheduled to open a new series against the New York Mets on Friday night at Citi Field. For Judge, the next chapter is not about whether he belongs in the conversation Rodriguez started. It is about whether he can turn a legendary individual run into the championship that still eludes him.
