New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has sportsbooks sweating as he aims to end an 84-year drought for MLB’s best hitters.
Key Takeaways
- No player has hit better than .394 in a season since 1941
- Reported by The Athletic, Judge’s odds to hit .400 fell from +25000 at opening to +15000
- Sportsbooks have Judge at +135 to win the Triple Crown, which only 10 players have done
Judge, who is hitting .398 through 53 games, could become the first player since Ted Williams in 1941 to hit .400 for an entire season.
BetMGM first released odds for Judge to hit .400 back on May 2, at which time he had a .430 batting average through 32 games. Odds were priced at +25000, meaning a $100 wager would win $25,000.
Less than one month later and $100 bettors would’ve lost $10,000 in value now that odds are at +15000 ($15,000 per $100 wager) and shortened as low as +10000 ($10,000 per $100 wager).
One BetMGM patron slapped $2,000 on the prop line when it had +17500 odds, putting them in a position to win $350,000 if Judge delivers justice to the line.
“We get more action on MLB achievement props than any other sport,” said BetMGM Trading Manager Hal Egeland. “MLB’s historic numbers seem to have more significance for the public in general, even beyond betting.”
Familiarity with the record books
Judge is no stranger to making history. Three years ago, he broke Roger Maris’ 61 home-run American League record with 62. He hit .311 that season, the second-highest of his career, behind his .322 mark set last year.
The burly outfield is tied for second in home runs with 18 in addition to his pursuit of the .400 mark, a feat nobody has sniffed since Tony Gwynn hit .394 in 1994.
“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,” said Egeland.
BetMGM is also offering odds for Judge to win the AL Triple Crown, which requires one player to lead all players in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in. He’s first in batting average and home runs and is one RBI behind Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers, who played three more games than Judge at the time of writing.
Judge is +135 ($135 per $100 wager) to win the award last claimed by Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
Will Aaron Judge hit .400?
Judge’s pursuit of history took a minor detour since the odds first went live. Still outrageously impressive, Judge hit .357 in 22 games from May 2-May 27, the day of writing. He also had eight home runs and 15 RBIs during that time.
One issue facing Judge is pitchers’ reluctance to give him opportunities for hits. He’s fifth in baseball in walks with 36, though that also means that every hit is more impactful on his overall average.
The Yankees’ megastar hit .350 from June 1 until the end of the regular season last year after hitting .277 from March 1-May 31.
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