Yankees Star Aaron Judge Joins Rare Home Run Company
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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees became the sixth player in Major League history to hit at least 60 home runs in a season on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Judge’s home run came in the ninth inning with no one out. His solo shot pushed him into a tie with Babe Ruth for second-most home runs in American League history and Yankees history. Ruth hit 60 in 1927, and that stood as the game’s AL and MLB record until Roger Maris broke it in 1961.
Maris also played for the Yankees and his 61 stands as the AL record. Judge will tie that with his next home run.
With 62 home runs, Judge would own the AL record, but would have a ways to go to try and claim the overall record, set by San Francisco’s Barry Bonds, who hit 73 home runs in 2001.
The players in front of Judge all played in the NL. St. Louis’ Mark McGwire broke Maris’ record in 1998, on his way to 70 home runs. That same season, the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa, who played for the Rangers two different times, hit 66 home runs.
McGwire hit 65 home runs in 1999, while Sosa hit 64 home runs in 2001 and 63 in 1999.
Judge also has a shot at the AL Triple Crown. He entered Tuesday’s game in the AL lead in both home runs and RBI, and just one point behind Minnesota’s Luis Arraez for the lead in batting average. The last player to win the Triple Crown was Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera. The last Yankee to win the Triple Crown was Mickey Mantle in 1956.
The New York Yankees will wrap up their regular season in Texas with a four-game set with the Rangers from Oct. 3-5. That includes a day-night doubleheader with the Rangers on Oct. 4 and an afternoon finale on Oct. 5.
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