MILWAUKEE — Two home runs on Sunday gave Aaron Judge his 58th and 59th homers. The slugger now needs only two more home runs to equal Roger Maris’ 1961 American League record.
Judge hit home run No. 58 in the third inning and No. 59 in the seventh inning. His offense played a key role in the Yankees’ overwhelming the Brewers 12-8 at American Family Field.
When the Yankees’ star came up to bat in the ninth inning after already hitting two home runs earlier, the home plate umpire Gabe Morales went back to the other team’s dugout to change the balls.
Every ball Aaron Judge hits from now on will be numbered so that Major League Baseball can keep track of how many home runs he hits. That makes it easier to officially record if or when he hits 61 home runs, which would be the American League and Yankees record.
The Yankees have 16 games left this season and their power hitter needs only three homers to go past the AL homer record for a single season that remains for over six decades. Analysts and bookies favor the slugger to reach at least 65 home runs this season.
In the seventh, Judge hit a 1-2 slider from right-handed pitcher Luis Perdomo to left field. The 443-foot shot put the 30-year-old one home run behind Babe Ruth for second place on the Yankees’ all-time list of home runs in a single season. He is only the second big leaguer in the last 20 years to hit 59 home runs, joining Giancarlo Stanton, who did it with the Marlins in 2017.
Despite all the media glare around his record chase, Aaron Judge is the only one who doesn’t seem to be talking about it. He stays focused on having a historic season this year.
When asked about the home run chase all season, Judge has been vague, saying that he will think about it in the offseason. He once told:
“”It’s all noise. I just got a job on the field, and that’s all I’m thinking about. It still needs to go a long way. We still have a lot of games this month and the playoffs to look forward to, so I’m staying focused on that.”
Anthony Rizzo, who score a home run and two singles against the Brewers on his return game on Sunday, termed this season as special for Aaron Judge. He too joined the MVP debate supporting his fellow teammate. According to him:
“I understand there’s going to be a storyline for the next two weeks on who deserves the MVP, but this hasn’t been done in this era. Someone chasing 61 … clean like this and no question marks on what’s going on in the game. So it’s really impressive. It’s really fun. And I know there’s a debate about [Angels’ pitcher/slugger Shohei] Ohtani and whatnot but Judge, it’s just his season.”
Aaron Judge now stands as the first Yankee and only the third major league player to reach No. 59 homer in his team’s first 146 games. Barry Bonds in his historic 2001 season scored 63 home runs in 146 games. He went on to score 10 more to end the season with a record haul of 73 homers. In 1998, Mark McGwire had 62 home runs after playing the same number of games. Sammy Mosa, who made 63 home runs in 1999, had 59 homers in 146 games. All of those accomplishments were tainted by the steroid era in MLB, including Bonds’ 73 home runs in 2001.
Since then, a baseball record chase hasn’t been as exciting as it was back then. When Judge hit 50 home runs, it caught the attention of fans and, on Sunday, it started up officially.
On Sunday, Judge went 4-for-5, walked, hit a double, drove in four runs, and scored three runs. He hit in a season-high nine straight games and raised his batting average to.316, which is third in the American League. He also drove in 127 runs, which is the most in any league. So, he is a real chance to win the Triple Crown for the first time since Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
The latest predictions expect Judge to hit his No. 60 home run at Yankees Stadium and things are going that way. The Yankees are to host the Pirates and the Red Sox before heading to Toronto.
An elated Yankees manager Aaron Boone admired Judge for his home runs. He said:
“What he’s doing and the fact that he doesn’t get caught up in it is so good; he keeps things very easy; I mean he hit one to right field today as far as he can hit it, and the other [one] pretty much then as far as he can hit it to left; and then it’s like they pitch to him there with the lead and he smokes a double, I mean it’s fun to watch.”
Aron Judge hadn’t hit a home run in three games in a row. He got out on a fly ball in the first inning. In the third, he went to the plate and hit a 92 mph sinker from right-handed Brewers pitcher Jason Alexander into the second deck of right field. StatCast says that the home run was about 414 feet long.
Where do you think No. 62 will come for Aaron Judge? At home or in Toronto?
