Judge, Pujols Have Shots at Major MLB Milestones by Season’s End

Judge, Pujols Have Shots at Major MLB Milestones by Season’s End
Fact Checked by Pat McLoone

Two significant baseball marks very possibly will be tied or broken in each league before the regular season ends. People involved in New York sports betting and wagering across the country are watching closely.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 54th home run of the season on Labor Day in a 5-2 home victory over the Minnesota Twins. Judge is seven homers away from tying a truly historic record:  the Yankees’ season record of 61, set by Roger Maris way back in 1961.

Meanwhile, in what he says will be his last year in the big leagues, Albert Pujols is back home in St. Louis and making a serious run at joining the exclusive club of 700 career home runs.

Using stats from this season, EmpireStakes.com set out to project the chances Judge and/or Pujols achieve their lofty goals.

 

Here Comes Da Judge

With 27 games left in the regular season, including 15 at home, Judge is projected to hit 65 home runs before the playoffs start.

At an average of close to four at-bats per game (3.69, to be exact), Judge is hitting a home run in every nine at-bats (8.693). With about 100 at-bats left in the season, it is projected he will hit 11 home runs over the next 27 games.

Sunday’s blast was Judge’s third dinger in his last three games (8 in his last 13) and tied him with Alex Rodriguez (2007) for the most home runs in a single season by a Yankees’ right-handed batter.

FanDuel New York has posted over/under odds on Judge to hit 61.5, with -110 either way. 
 
The Yankees (81-54, .600), who play the second game of a four-game home series Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins, have a 5-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

Here is a thumbnail look at Judge’s numbers.

2022 HRs54
Games left27
HRs per at-bat1 in 8.693
At-bats per game3.69
Projected at-bats100
Projected HRs11
End of season65 HRs

 

Yankees Holding On in East

New York sports betting apps expect the Yankees to finish off the Rays and Toronto Blue Jays (5½ back).  
 
The latest future odds in New York baseball betting from FanDuel has the Yankees posted at -1100 to win the AL East, +210 to win the American League pennant and +500 to win the Fall Classic.

The Yankees are now forth in World Series odds, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (+290), Houston Astros (+410) and the New York Mets (+480).

Age Is Just a Number . . . So Is 700

Albert Pujols is experiencing a bit of a rebirth now that he is back with the Cardinals at age 42 in his 22nd season.

Pujols, who has hit 16 home runs this season (1 in every 14.75 at-bats), hit No. 695 on Sunday in a 2-0 home victory over the Chicago Cubs, putting him one shy of tying Rodriguez for fourth all-time.

Here is a look at the all-time list.

  • Barry Bonds: 762
  • Henry Aaron: 755
  • Babe Ruth: 714
  • Alex Rodriguez: 696
  • Albert Pujols: 695

However, needing just five home runs to make the 700 Club, Pujols has fewer opportunities than Judge per game as he visits the plate an average of just 1.748 times per game.  That is, unless the Cardinals pick up the frequency of at-bats down the stretch.

At the current rate, Pujols would get about 47 more at-bats this regular season, which projects to hit a little over three home runs (3.2) the rest of the year. An additional three home runs gives Pujols 19 for the season and he would finish two shy of history at 698.

Here is a thumbnail of Pujols’ quest:

2022 HRs16
Career HRs695
Games left27
HRs per at-bat1 in 14.75
At-bats per game1.748
Projected at-bats47
Projected HRs3.2
End of season19 HRs
Projected career HRs698

FanDuel has posted over/under odds of hitting more than 699.5 for his career, with the over at +205 and the under as the favorite at -260.

Make sure to frequently check EmpireStakes.com for betting analysis of all the major sports as well as for the best NY betting promos.

Cardinals Down the Stretch

With 27 regular-season game left, the Cardinals (79-56, .585) have 13 games left at home, including the second of a four-game series Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals. St. Louis has a 7½ game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central division race. 
 
As of early Tuesday afternoon, here are the Cardinals’ future odds to win the World Series (+2200), the National League (+950) and the division (-10000). 

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Author

Lou Monaco had been East Coast Scene columnist for Gaming Today in Las Vegas since June 2019, covering the East Coast sportsbook scene with emphasis on NJ and PA. He also currently is a part-time writer for the high school sports department for NJ Advanced Media (NJ.com) in Iselin, NJ. Lou has over 30 years sports experience with previous stints at ESPN SportsTicker, Daily Racing Form and Oddschecker.

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