One For The Record Books

09/29/2022 One For The Record Books

By: Jeff Yoder

Aaron Judge Hits 61st Home Run; Ties Roger Maris for Most in AL History

Sixty-one in the books! After a seven-game wait, Aaron Judge got the monkey off his back. Wednesday night in Toronto — 24 hours after the Yankees clinched the AL East — Judge stepped to the plate in the 7th inning of a 3-3 game. Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza delivered a 3-2 pitch that was raked over the left-field wall. Judge trotted across the plate to a warm reception from fans and teammates, and he joined Roger Maris for the most home runs in a single season in American League history. The two-run shot was the spark to an 8-3 New York win, and the hunt for 62 begins this weekend with a three-game home stand against the Orioles.

 

Watch: Aaron Judge Hits Historic 61st Home Run

 

“It’s an incredible honor. Getting a chance to be associated with one of the Yankee greats, you know, one of baseball’s greats and being enshrined with him forever — words can’t describe it.” — Aaron Judge

 

Additional Storylines

NY Post: Aaron Judge Earned His Place in Yankees Lore

CBS Sports: Ranking Top 10 Homers From Aaron Judge in Record-Tying Season

Yahoo! Sports: Blue Jays Fan Comes Oh-So Close to Catching Judge’s 61st Home Run Ball

 

MLB Quick-Hitters

 

Crew in the Hunt: The Brewers were the only NL Wild Card hopefuls to win on Wednesday, narrowing the gap to just a half-game behind the Phillies for the final Wild Card spot. The Crew beat the Cards (5-1) behind six innings and 10 Ks from Brandon Woodruff.

 

Mets Walk it Off: The NL East race entered Wednesday in a dead heat between the Mets and Braves, but Atlanta fell and the Mets got a 3-for-5 night from Eduardo Escobar that included five RBIs and a walk-off single in the 10th to beat the Marlins (5-4). New York now leads the Braves by one game heading into a three-game series against Atlanta.

 

Dodgers Deliver 107: A 1-0 win over the Padres via Freddie Freeman’s RBI single in the 10th inning was enough to give the Dodgers a franchise record 107 wins. Only six teams in MLB history have ever won 110 games. The 1906 Cubs and 2001 Mariners hold the all-time record (116 wins).

 

Photo: Cole Burston / Getty Images