Baseball’s record book has been rewritten and now reads: Aaron Judge, 62. Roger Maris, 61. Babe Ruth, 60.
Judge alone leads the AL in single-season home runs after hitting his 62nd homer in a season against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
The opening ball was taken into left field and a fan in the front row of the 31st caught it cleanly in his glove.
Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinocco surrendered a record home run.
Judge hit his 61st home run in Toronto last Wednesday, tying Maris’ record set in 1961.
Judge’s 62 home runs are currently seventh in a single season and the regular season ends tomorrow.
Barry Bonds held the single-season overall record with 73 homers in 2001, and in the 1998 homer chase, Mark McGwell hit 70 and Sammy Sousa hit 66 . The pair had over 60 on five of four home runs. As the season stretched, McGill hit 65 home runs in 1999, while Sosa hit 64 in 2001 and 1999.
Roger Maris Jr. said after tying his father’s record on Wednesday, Judge will be a true single-season player as Bonds, McGwell and Sousa play in baseball’s steroid era The king of home runs.
“I think it means a lot, not just to me, I think to a lot of people, he’s clean, he’s the Yankees, he’s playing the right way,” Marris Jr. said. tell reporters. “I think he gave people the opportunity to see a guy who should be respected for hitting 62 home runs, not just as a guy who did it in the American League. He deserved to be a real single Respected for a season home run champion. If he hits 62, that’s who he really is, I think that’s what needs to happen, I think baseball needs to look at the record, I think baseball needs to do something.”
Judge, who will become a free agent this winter, is also in contention for the Triple Crown, which is only 12 times in major league history. In addition to his 26 home run lead, the 30-year-old outfielder led the AL with 131 RBIs and was second in batting average with .311.
The Californian drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Yankees, Judge hit 52 home runs in his rookie season in 2017. With his subsequent season cut short by injury, the pandemic or a Major League Baseball lockout, Judge didn’t hit 40 home runs in a single campaign until this season.
Judge hit 60 home runs in just over a week and walked 13 times in a seven-game drought before beating the world No. 1. 61. It took him almost another week to reach No. 1. 62.
His goal now is Sousa’s 63, which is the sixth-highest in a single season. The Yankees wrap up the regular season in Texas on Wednesday at 4:05 p.m. ET against the Rangers.