61 years. 61 home runs. 161st game of the season. Yankee Aaron Judge faces off to break former Yankee Roger Maris’s 61 Home Run Record with a historic 62nd Home Run.
On October 1, 1961, New York Yankees’ Roger Maris slugged his 61st home run of the season in a game against the Boston Red Sox, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball to hit more than 60 home runs in a regular season. Maris topped Yankees’ Babe Ruth’s 1927 record of 60 home runs in a regular season. On October 4, 2022, almost 61 years after that day, the New York Yankees faced off in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The New York Yankees’ seven year veteran and leadoff hitter, Aaron Judge, took to the plate of the Yankees’ 161st game. On the third pitch, Judge hit a 391 feet. home run deep left and into the stands, breaking Maris’s 61 year record.
Ramapo Teacher Ms. Davanzo described it as, “I think the Judge Home Run chase was one of the best parts of the season! I was biting my nails a little bit at the end because it seemed like opponents were “pitching scared,” but thankfully, the Rangers muscled up and threw over the plate.” After the hit, Judge humbly circled the bases and smiled at his fans. As Judge walked back toward the dugout, he took off his helmet, looked up, and acknowledged his fans. Roger Maris Jr. and his family offered their congratulations to Judge’s family while at the game. In a post-game interview with YES Network, Judge expressed, “It’s a tough situation, your dad’s legacy, and you want to uphold that. But getting a chance to meet that family, they are wonderful people. Getting a chance to have my name next to someone as great as Roger Maris, Babe Ruth, those guys, is incredible,” (ESPN.com). Judge also acknowledged that the most memorable part of his journey the last couple of weeks had been the fans in the seats.
Although the Yankees would ultimately finish their 161st game Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers with a loss of 3-2, their W-L record fell to 99-62. One can’t help but notice the insane irony here: #99 slugs his 62nd home run, making MLB history. Nonetheless, Yankees fans left the stadium feeling victorious. Many students at Ramapo are big Yankees, such as student Max Baczynski who says, “I believe he’s the MVP. He’s made great strides ands has improved a lot since his first year as a Yankee.”