New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge set the MLB American League (AL) record for most home runs in a single season during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Center Wednesday night.
Judge, played by Toronto Blue Jays substitute Tim Mayza, hit his 61st home run of the season into the Blue Jays’ bullpen in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game.
With Aaron Hicks at first base, Judge hit the record-breaking homer with a 3-2 count to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead.
Tonight’s game is the third of a three-game series between the Yankees and the Jays, the last time the teams will face off in the 2022 regular season.
In the first two games at Rogers Center, Judge walked six times and stuck to 60 homers. The Yankees won Tuesday’s game 5-2 to secure the AL East title.
In the first game of the series on Monday, the Jays defeated the Yankees 3-2 in a bottom tenth walkoff.
WHO HAS HIT THE MOST HOMERUNS IN MLB?
Judge now shares the AL record with Yankees player Roger Maris, who hit 61 home runs in the 1961 season. Before Maris, Babe Ruth set the AL record for 60 homers in 1927, albeit during a longer season.
While the American League record was level tonight, the MLB record remains intact.
Barry Bonds currently holds the MLB record for most home runs in a season, with 73 in the 2001 season while playing in the National League for the San Francisco Giants. However, some dispute Bond’s record as it came at a time of massive performance-enhancing drug scandals in the league.
The remaining National League players to hit 61+ homers each season are Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, both in the 1998 season at ages 70 and 66, respectively.
In 2009, The New York Times reported that Sosa was one of 104 players to test positive for a performance-enhancing drug in an anonymous 2003 poll. The substance was never identified and Sosa has never publicly commented on the alleged drug use.
In 2010, McGwire admitted to having been on and off steroids for more than a decade during his career.