In 633 fewer games than Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge surpassed the legendary Philadelphia Phillies player with 346 career home runs. Judge has since added one more, as many have begun to compare the two. While one year older, the New York Yankees star is significantly behind Harper in numerous categories. Even though he has well over 2,000 fewer trips to the plate, he still dominates a few statistics.
The Harper vs. Judge Debate Heats Up
Even though he has two more career home runs, Judge has 223 fewer RBIs. The power favors Judge, who has better career stats in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging percentage, and OPS+. His 178 OPS trumps Harper’s 142, as his .616 slugging is much higher than the 32-year-olds’ .519.
Career offensive War leaders among active players
Look at the plate appearance difference man lol https://t.co/4Ho5ZnTBqC pic.twitter.com/bqMuSVohIo
— AT (@YankeeWRLD) July 3, 2025
Judge has a career OPS over 1.000, as his 1.027 is far superior to Harper’s .907. Unsurprisingly, those numbers fall in his favor, as many would argue they will even out once Judge hits the same number of at-bats as Harper. For now, it seems like their numbers will never even out as they remain similar in age and have no plans to slow down anytime soon.
As the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, Harper took the league by storm. He hit .270 in his rookie season, a number he’s hit nine times in his career. Harper’s career high in home runs came in 2015, the first year he would become the National League’s Most Valuable Player. One year later, Judge hit just .179 in his first 84 at-bats with the New York Yankees.
Harper’s 2015 season will likely be the highlight of his career, though he won the NL MVP again in 2021. His .309 average and 1.044 OPS were phenomenal, as Judge prepared to take off. The Yankees star would win two of the next three MVP trophies in the AL as he sets his sights on back-to-back MVP seasons.
While he’s currently hitting .365, it seems likely that Judge will hit closer to the .330 that Harper did in his 2015 season. Harper finished his first MVP season with a 1.109 OPS, which Judge surpassed in 2022 and 2024. His OPS currently sits at 1.214.
Even though Harper has played in four more seasons, Judge has already caught up, as he’s just one All-Star appearance shy. Harper has played in eight All-Star games, with Judge sitting at seven, as he hasn’t missed an All-Star game since 2020.
In terms of WAR, Judge’s 59.1 career number is once again far more than Harper’s 52.5. Harper’s game has a different element, as he’s stolen nearly 100 more bases than Judge. One key element remains, as neither of these players has won a World Series, though Judge’s team appeared in it last season.