WATCH: Aaron Judge Hits Home Run No. 56, Five Shy of Tying Maris
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is now just five home runs away from tying former Yankees great Roger Maris for the single-season American League home run record.
Judge hit his 56th home run of the season Tuesday night at Fenway Park off Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta.
Judge's solo shot off Pivetta tied the game at 3-3.
The Yankees will have 20 games remaining in the 2022 regular season after Tuesday's game, meaning that Judge will need to hit one home run every four games in order to tie Maris' 61-year standing record.
Maris held the Major League record for home runs in a single-season for 37 years, until St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire and Chicago Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa broke his record of 61 in the 1998 season. Three years later, Barry Bonds would break McGwire's record of 70, bashing 73 in the 2001 season.
Bonds, McGwire and Sosa would tarnish their legacies however, with their usage of performance-enhancing drugs.
Judge would need to hit 17 home runs over the Yankees' final 20 games in order to tie Bonds' 73, which seems improbable, but is not impossible.
Judge has hit 56 home runs over 138 games this season, homering in 40.58% of his games. If he remains on his current pace and plays in all of the Yankees' remaining games, he will finish the 2022 season with a total of 64 home runs, a new American League record.
Judge would also become the first player to surpass Maris without being linked to the usage of performance-enhancing drugs.
