New York Yankees star Aaron Judge launched his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday on the road against the Texas Rangers, breaking the AL's record he shared with Roger Maris.
After depositing a Tim Mayza sinker into the Toronto Blue Jays
bullpen to tie Maris' mark last Wednesday, Judge went without a home
run during the Yankees' final regular season homestand -- a three-game
series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Back on the road, Judge who had gone 2 for 9 with two singles in two
games against the Rangers through Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader, took
Texas pitcher Jesus Tinoco deep in the first inning of the nightcap to reach No. 62.
The
Yankees gathered to meet Judge at home plate after the home run, and he
took off his helmet as he walked back to the dugout to acknowledge the
fans. When he took the field in the bottom of the inning, he was again
given a standing ovation.
"It would have been nice to hit it at
home in front of the home fans, but at the end of the day, I've got a
job to do," Judge said Sunday.
The record-setting homer came three
days after the 61st anniversary of the day Maris passed the legendary
Babe Ruth with his 61st home run.
"(It is an) honor to be given a
chance to be associated with Maris," Judge said Wednesday after he
became forever linked to the Yankees legend as the only players in
franchise history to hit 61 home runs. "I can't even describe it. It's
such an honor to know what Maris did in this game. To get a chance to
tie Roger Maris, that's stuff you dream about."
Only Barry Bonds
(73), Mark McGwire (70, 65) and Sammy Sosa (66, 64, 63) are ahead of
Judge on MLB's single-season home run list. But while Judge holds the AL
record, Maris' son, Roger Maris Jr., said this week that he believes
Judge should be recognized as the true "home run king."
Maris'
mark stood as the all-time MLB record up until McGwire passed it by
hitting 70 in 1998. Bonds surpassed McGwire in 2001, with baseball's
official single-season record of 73 home runs. But Maris Jr. diminished
the accomplishments of the two sluggers, who reached their feats during
the so-called steroid era.
"He plays the game the right way," Maris Jr. said of Judge earlier this week. "And I think it gives people the chance to look at somebody who should be revered for hitting 62 home runs, and not just a guy who hit it in the American League, but for being the actual single-season home run champion. That's who he is. It's 62, and I think that's what needs to happen."
Judge, who grew up about half an hour east of San
Francisco as a Giants fan, has said that he believes that Bonds' 73
homers is the rightful single-season mark.
New York manager Aaron Boone said he feels privileged to have had a front-row seat to baseball history.
"The history of this game is one of the is one of its calling cards," Boone said. "The Number 61. I've known about that number for my entire life. I think one thing that makes our sport a little more special than the others, is the history of it all. We do history really well. And this has been a year and a season where we're in the middle of one of those magical historical moments, and that's tied to a number. And that's pretty neat."
