Aaron Judge hits home run number 61. How historic is his season?
Aaron Judge has tied Roger Maris’ record for the Yankees and the American League with 61 home runs. How historic is his season?
Chris Pedota and Pete Caldera, NorthJersey.com
NEW YORK – As a teenager, around 1930, my grandfather had a summer job as a courier for an architectural firm in New York City.
As he told me many years later, he delivered plans to various locations, scheduling his final stop in the Bronx—or as close to it as possible—so that he could catch the final few innings at Yankee Stadium.
Back then, Yankees games started at 3:30 p.m., and the ushers usually weren’t busy tearing up tickets at 4:30 p.m., so a kid could just walk in and watch an hour of free baseball.
That meant watching Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig bat and the “Five O’Clock Lightning” they created – a reference to the time of day when the late rallies began.
Of course, I was impressed that my father’s father had personally experienced these legendary Yankees and could describe exactly what it was like to watch them play.
Such thoughts come to mind now as I watch Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have a historic season as teammates on the Yankees, with Judge’s latest goal being to hit 60 home runs this year.
“If it results in a ring and a lot of fun in the playoffs, that would definitely be cool,” Judge said after hitting another home run in a 6-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
“Like I said the other day, I just try to do everything I can every day to put us in a good position to win a ballgame, especially these games against Cleveland (in the fight for) the best record in the AL.”
Yankees win in series against potential October opponent
Despite five walks (and some harsh words for plate umpire Derek Thomas for a pitch clock violation), Yankees ace Gerrit Cole pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just one hit – a leadoff single by Steven Kwan.
Three Yankee relief pitchers completed this one-hitter, helping Cole to his 150th career win.
“It’s a special number,” Cole said. “For me, it’s one of those statistics that everyone is involved in.”
In the fourth inning, Judge hit a solo home run to right that left him with just one out – his MLB-leading 48th of the year – against right-handed starter Gavin Williams to break a scoreless tie.
When Judge faced newly assigned reliever Nick Sandlin in the fifth inning with runners on the corners, he was intentionally forced to walk after a 2-0 count.
Austin Wells followed with a long sacrifice fly and Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer to center, and the AL East-leading Yankees moved toward a series victory over the AL Central leaders.
As Judge reiterated after his two-home run game in Wednesday night’s 8-1 win, “We’ll see them later,” and expects a meeting in October against the Guardians.
Will Judge have matched or surpassed his AL record of 62 home runs in a season in 2022 by then?
Aaron Judge on home run tour
After 128 games, Judge has hit a record of nearly 61 home runs and is currently in top form, with six home runs in his last seven games.
“I guess we’re at the stage of the season where we’re making good progress,” manager Aaron Boone said, as Judge moves closer to his goal of becoming the only Yankee to hit 60 home runs twice in a season.
Ruth hit 59 home runs in 1921 before hitting 60 in 1927 – an MLB single-season record that was broken by Roger Maris in 1961 and surpassed by Judge (for the AL record).
“I think he just wants to be great every day and help us win,” Boone said, but “nothing would surprise me.”
Since Judge had a batting average below .200 in early May, “this seems like a different level,” Stanton said.
“That’s what the best in the world does, he makes it look easy. We all benefit from that and he surprises us every night.”
Related: How many players have hit 300 home runs? What you need to know as Aaron Judge hits his 300th career home run
Boone has been watching Judge from the Yankees’ dugout since 2018, his second season, and sees a player who “just keeps getting a little bit better, that’s greatness.”
“The way he controls the strike zone now is on a different level.”
Remember, this was a player who had the “.179” screen save on his phone, a constant offseason reminder of his first 27 MLB games in 2016.
This year his batting average is .334 and his OPS is 1.191.
“That’s so impressive,” Cole said, “because this guy is (.334) and I’m not sure he’s had a single infield hit all year, it’s just doubles and home runs.”
“There’s nobody that compares to him, certainly not when you’re walking around right now other than (Barry) Bonds,” Cole said. “What a wonderful experience to have him on my team and to be around him.”
