The game on October 1 was an opportunity for Aaron Judge to hit his 62nd home run and make history. However, he missed it though he stepped into the plate exactly the same time Roger Maris hit the AL record 61 years ago. On Sunday, the Yankees slugger again stayed at 61 after failing to hit his historic 62nd home run.
It is completely unfair to expect history to repeat and that too based on the chosen time and day. However, when Aaron Judge went homerless in three consecutive home games at Yankee Stadium, it was an epitome of a letdown for Yankees fans, who forgot everything to wait for the home run no. 62.
The first game ended in Yankees’ 2-1 loss. But they bounced back to 8-0 win in the second game after Nestor Cortes had 12 strikeouts. However, the Orioles snatched the final game and won the series 2-1. Though Aaron Judge failed, the series was important for DJ LeMahieu, Zack Britton, Domingo German, and Aroldis Chapman to see how healthy or effective they were before the playoff roster was set. It was also important for the Orioles, who ended their season with .500 or more for the first time in six years.
But for the vast majority of people in the ballpark across the erstwhile place of the old Yankee Stadium, where Babe Ruth hit No. 60 in 1927 and Roger Maris hit No. 61 in 1961, everything other than an Aaron Judge at-bat was just filler. Everything else got in the way. That’s why someone came up with the fast-forward button.
After hitting home run number 60 on September 20, Aaron Judge did not hit another home run for the remaining five games of the previous homestand. After arriving in Toronto, Aaron Judge did not hit a home run for the first two games, but on Wednesday, he tied the AL record by hitting his 61st career home run.
The time had come. With each pitch, the congregation got up from its seats and turned to face the altar. Manager Aaron Boone said, “People don’t want to miss a chance to really drink in history.”
On Friday, Aaron Judge couldn’t help them get that. He tried his best against pitcher Jordan Lyles’ pitches that clocked between 79 mph and 91 mph and didn’t mess it up too badly by going 1-for-2. In the eighth inning after missing three 100 mph four-seam pitches, reliever Felix Bautista made him to walk with a man on second base
At 3-2, there was a strikeout in the first inning. On 2-and-2, there was a sharp single up the middle in the third. There was a walk on a full count in the sixth inning. Even when a single was hit, there was a ripple of discontent after each turn at bat. Then there was a huge amount of ridicule after the intentional walk, which in reality was given three pitches too late.
It’s possible that Brandon Hyde, the manager of Baltimore, wore a dunce cap but not a black hat. There’s no way he could have been a bad guy. If anything, Boone probably shouldn’t have had mistakes that his players made in first and third games.
There seemed to be at least a game to be won, even though the Yankees are locked into the AL second seed and the group of true believers and treasure hunters couldn’t care less about that.
Despite the bad weather and even the worse performance by the Yankees on Sunday night, fans waited with patience only to see Aaron Judge hitting his 62nd home run. All were looking to become the part of that historic moment. But no Orioles’ pitcher was willing to give in and they tried to avoid taking the bat away from Aaron Judge.
There are still four games left, all are on the road in Texas. If and when Judge gets his 62nd home run, the intentional walks and management decisions for and against him will be small bumps on the landscape of history.
Plus, Boone has helped the co-holder of the AL record get as many at-bats as possible by putting Judge in the leadoff spot for the last 18 games. The manager has been helpful and hasn’t been much of a problem.
But fans are impatient. The people who paid to be at the ballpark or on streaming channels expect the historic home run by Aaron Judge or nothing.
When do you think Aaron Judge will have his 62nd home run?
