In 1961, the Yankees’ Roger Maris hit 61 home runs, breaking the major league record set by another Yankees star, Babe Ruth, who hit 60 in 1927.
Maris’ record was eventually surpassed by three different players, all of whom have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs. But Wednesday night at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Aaron Judge — another Yankee and an outfielder who spent his entire career in the drug-testing era — matched Maris’ famous mark, hitting his 61st home run of a spectacular season.
With seven games remaining, Judge is tied with Maris for the American League record and has ample opportunity to go it alone. A 62nd home run wouldn’t break Barry Bond’s overall record of 73 for a season set in the National League in 2001, but for many it might erase some of the bad memories of an era when steroids seemed to dominate the game.
Judge, who leads the major leagues in numerous statistical categories, is enjoying one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history. And after 34 Plate appearances over the course of eight days without a home run – seemingly an eternity by Judge’s standards – his size and strength against the Blue Jays was fully shown when he finally caught Maris by scoring a 394-foot, two-run blast to left field in the top of the seventh inning against left-hander Tim Mayza.
The runs broke a tie and propelled the Yankees to an 8-3 victory.
“I was just trying to go there and rally and get something going,” Judge said in an on-pitch interview after the game.
The reserved judge spoke about wanting to make sure the ball went over the fence and was surprised his teammates were on the field to greet him after he rounded bases.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Judge said at his post-game press conference about matching with Maris. “To get the chance to be associated with one of the greats of the Yankees, you know, one of the greats of baseball, and to be forever adored with him – words can’t describe it.”
With Major League Baseball authenticating the ball before the homer and speculating about how much it would be worth on the open market, No. 61 eventually ended up in the Toronto bullpen, out of reach of any fans. It was caught by Toronto’s bullpen coach Matt Buschmann, whose wife, sportscaster Sara Walsh, tweeted shortly after that she could announce her resignation. Although a later post said he handed the ball off to the Yankees’ Zack Britton for it to be returned to Judge.
In the eighth inning, Judge had his first shot at breaking the record but hit a hard groundout. He will resume his quest to be sole leader of the American League on Friday when the Yankees return to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Like Maris before him, Judge has handled the pressures of the chase and any temporary slumps with a calm smile and an insistence that his priority is winning games for the Yankees.
“He’s well equipped for all of that, and he was right about that. He handled it perfectly,” manager Aaron Boone said last week, adding that Judge keeps the game simple. “In a tough, difficult, not-so-easy game, sometimes it’s important to keep it simple and he’s doing a great job.”
Judge, who could win his first AL Most Valuable Player award this year after finishing second as a rookie in 2017, is threatening the record books in more ways than hitting balls over the fence. As of Wednesday’s start, he was leading the AL in batting average (.314) and he was leading (of course) in home runs and runs batted (128). Should he still lead the regular season in all three categories, he would win the first triple crown since the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and only the second since 1967.
Not only was the 30-year-old judge the top batter in baseball this season, the gap between him and his peers is considerable.
The player with the second most homers in Wednesday’s majors? Kyle Schwarber of Philadelphia at 42. The player with the second best on-base plus slugging percentage after Judges’ 1,119? Houston’s Jordan Alvarez with a 1,021. The positional players with the next highest wins over the reserve after Judge’s 10.9? Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals with 7.1 each according to fangraphs.
Just by hitting the 60-home run plateau, Judge entered baseball’s rarefied air. Only six players in history have hit as many in one season, and three of those – Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Bonds – have been linked in various ways to using performance enhancers. While her stats remain in baseball’s record books, her accomplishments are widely viewed with skepticism.
A wave of 50-homer seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s slowed with the introduction of Major League Baseball’s drug testing program in 2004, but Judge, with a relentless approach to the plate and no shortage of power in his 6-foot -7, 282-pound frame, quickly realized he could reach that level when he hit 52 home runs as a rookie in 2017. Injuries weighed on his overall results in subsequent seasons, but he hit 39 homers last year, setting a career-high batting average — .287 — helping set the stage for his 2022 breakout season.
On Wednesday, Judge actually broke out and had a home ring every 9:13 a.m., the 12th-highest rate in baseball history. In 1961, Maris had averaged a home run every 9.67 at-bats.
For the remainder of the regular season, Judge, known for his reticence towards the news media, will be at the center of the sport’s attention. His striking stats will do the most for him.
“I’m playing a no-brainer,” Judge said when asked if he really was as calm as he looked. “I love it. I love these moments.”
Jesus Jimenez and Benjamin Hoffman contributed reporting.