WATCH: Aaron Judge Blasts 55th Home Run; Six Shy of Tying Roger Maris
Aaron Judge has once again left the building.
The New York Yankees outfielder did so for the 55th time Wednesday afternoon, tattooing a 85-mph changeup from Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Louie Varland over the left field wall on a 2-1 count, with the bases empty in the bottom of the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium.
Judge is now six home runs shy of tying the American League single-season record of 61, set by former Yankees outfielder Roger Maris in the summer of 1961. The record has been held for the last 51 years.
Judge, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, is now two games ahead of Maris' record pace in 1961. In other words, it took Judge two fewer games to reach 55 homers than it did Maris.
After Wednesday, the Yankees will have 26 games remaining in the 2022 season. With 55 home runs through 132 games played, Judge is currently on pace to finish the season with 66 home runs if he were to play in all 26 games. 66 home runs would be a new American League record.
In order to tie Barry Bonds' single-season Major League record of 73 home runs — which Bonds achieved in 2001 — Judge would need to home run in 69% of his remaining games. He would need 18 long balls over 26 games. Seems unlikely, but he has now homered in four straight games, so if he were to stay on his current pace, it would be possible, although improbable.
Judge is now slashing .302/.403/1.090 with 55 home runs, 118 RBI and 15 stolen bases this season. He currently is the odds-on favorite for American League MVP in most sportsbooks.
