61! Aaron Judge Ties Roger Maris' Record With Historic Home Run
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TORONTO — Yankees superstar slugger Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the season on Wednesday night against the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, tying the American League record set by Roger Maris.
Judge's 61st blast of the year came almost exactly 61 years after Maris' 61st long ball, a home run the Yankees legend hit at Yankee Stadium on October 1, 1961.
In typical Judge fashion, the outfielder's historic home run was a missile. The two-run shot—giving the Yankees a 5-3 lead in the seventh inning—was clocked at 117.4 mph, soaring 394 feet. The homer didn't quite reach the bleachers in left field, caroming off the back wall of Toronto's bullpen.
Judge had been sitting on 60 homers for seven games entering play on Wednesday night. Each of his plate appearances in that span were a spectacle with sellout crowds gasping, cheering and groaning with every single pitch. The slugger was rarely seeing pitches to hit as well, often getting walked (and sometimes, intentionally walked), sparking boos from crowds—even Blue Jays fans in Toronto—that were hungry to witness history.
Left-hander Tim Mayza will be forever tied to Judge and his historic homer, serving a 3-2 sinker at 94.5 mph on a silver platter right down the heart of the plate. Mayza is the same pitcher that intentionally walked Judge in the ninth inning on Monday night, a controversial decision among Yankees fans, but one that led to Toronto's series-opening victory.
Judge is one home run away from setting the American League and franchise records, but he's also in line to contend for more history this season. With 61 home runs, 130 RBI and a .314 batting average, Judge is presently in line for a Triple Crown. He would be the first to accomplish such a feat since Miguel Cabrera did it in 2012, becoming just the third Yankee joining Lou Gehrig (1934) and Mickey Mantle (1956).
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