Goldschmidt: Judge's production is 'almost Barry Bondish'
New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has some high praise for teammate Aaron Judge.
"What he's doing is amazing," Goldschmidt said, according to ESPN's Jorge Castillo. "It's like almost Barry Bondish where it's like he's getting one pitch to hit a game and he's hitting it. Everyone knows he's one of the best, if not the best, hitter on the planet."
Judge is in the midst of the finest campaign of his career, which already includes two AL MVPs and a historic 62-homer season. The Yankees captain leads the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, and fWAR, while ranking first in the AL in runs and second in homers and RBIs.
His 2025 campaign is reminiscent of Bonds' production at his peak. Bonds, like Judge, also won the majority of his seven MVPs in his 30s.
| PLAYER | SEASONS | AGES | MVPS | OPS | FWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Bonds | 2001-04 | 36-39 | 4 | 1.368 | 47.3 |
| Aaron Judge | 2022-25* | 30-33 | 2** | 1.121 | 31.7 |
*55 games played so far in 2025
**front-runner for 3rd AL MVP
Judge credits his success to staying on the field, which has been an issue during parts of his career.
The 33-year-old said he's been able to play more games after adjusting his diet and workout regimen, as well as consulting with other athletes of similar age and size about staying healthy.
"You stay on the field and you're going to produce," Judge said. "And I was kind of sick and tired of having little nagging things that kind of pop up throughout the season. So if I was going to do something that my team could rely on for quite a few years, you can't be playing only 100 games a year. So I made a couple of changes and here we are."