New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge led off the second game of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night with a homerun, his 62nd of the season passing Roger Maris for the most in one season in the history of the American League.
Maris accomplished the 61 homers on the last day of the 1961 season with the Yankees. Judge hit the historic homer off Texas starter Jesus Tinoco, launching a 1-1 slider 391 feet into the left field seats at Globe Life Field. The ball was caught by fan Cory Youmans, who said he was unsure what he would do with the souvenir that could fetch millions of dollars. “I had a good feeling off the bat,” Judge said. “I just didn’t know where it was going to land or what it was going to hit. There was a good sense of relief once I saw it in that fan’s glove.” The most homeruns in baseball history for a single season was set by Barry Bonds with 73 in 2001. Mark McGwire hit 70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999, while Sammy Sosa had 66 in 1998, 64 in 2001, and 63 in 1999. The homerun totals by Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa have been clouded for many baseball fans by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. Judge is now seventh on the all-time list (American or National League) for one season.
“Just an all-time great season,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “He’s been the leader of this team, for a division-winning team, one for which he’s gotten big hit after big hit. I think it’s a historically great season, and one we’ll talk about when we’re long gone.” Judge added, “I tried to enjoy every single moment. I didn’t think about, ‘Hey, they’re all on their feet to see you hit a home run.’ I tried to think about, ‘Hey, they’re here to see an exciting ballgame and see something special.’ Having that mindset helped me stay pretty calm, but there was definitely a little pressure in there.”
