The 61st home run that can bring Aaron Judge at par with Roger Maris’ 1961 AL record remains elusive. After hitting the 60th the slugger has gone homeless for six consecutive games. While it has given rise to anxiety among fans and analysts are struggling to find out the reasons, a two-week-old tweet by a former Yankee Jose Canseco is attracting attention.
When predictions were giving Aaron Judge a chance to hit 65 home runs or beyond, six-time All-Star Canseco predicated 60 home runs for the New York slugger. His tweet on September 13 this year read:
“There is a simple reason why [Aaron] Judge will hit exactly 60 hrs this year.”
Canseco didn’t ever explain what was the “simple reason” he knew or why did he think that Aaron Judge wouldn’t go past 6 home runs. However, at the time of his tweet, the slugger had 55 home runs and he was very much in the record chase. Judge went to hit five home runs over the next week, bringing his total to 60, which was the same number Canseco had said. Since then the New York star is unable to hit his 61st home run belying all expectations.
Aron Judge, who needs just one homer to level with Roger Maris for the AL home-run record in a single season, is now in a sort of slump. He hasn’t hit a home run in six straight games (a total of 26 times at bat), and he only has nine games left in the regular season to tie or pass Maris.
Canseco had played for the Yankees in the 2000 season and often term it “the worst time of his life” for limited chances. The pinch hitter helped New York win the 2000 Worl Series against the Mets. Earlier he was a premier power hitter for Oakland from 1985 to 1992 and won the MVP award in 1988.
In 2005, Canseco admitted to being part of the steroid era and named many MLB bigwigs, including Mark McGwire, for taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Most likely, Judge will still hit another home run before the season is over. But analysts and fans still wonder what Canseco knew or why he posted such a pessimistic tweet. Did Canseco think that Aaron Judge would crack under the pressure of making history? Or was it just that pitchers stopped giving Aaron Judge good pitches to hit in the last few innings?
The former pinch hitter hasn’t tweeted about home runs of Aaron Judge since his last tweet. But it’s important to remember that Canseco just made a shocking prediction about another Yankees player that baffles all even today.
Do you think Canseco’s prediction about Aaron Judge’s home run will come true? If not, how many home runs the slugger will hit this season?
