#AllRise for the 55th time ?⚖️ pic.twitter.com/eJqbJNpwQh
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 7, 2022
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge blasted his 55th home run on the season Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins.
Judge is now six away from tying Roger Maris for the American League and franchise record of 61 home runs. And seven away from breaking it.
“Man, it just gets more and more amazing what he’s doing. I mean, it really does,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said recently. “Doesn’t get pitched to much and [is] just ready when it is in there. It’s getting hard to put into words what he’s doing. … Just a special season he’s in the midst of.”
Judge is fast approaching rarefied air in baseball history. Only 11 players in baseball history have hit 57 or more home runs in a season. And only five have hit 60 or more. And he is doing it all during a pressure-cooker of a contract season.
The all-time list:
• Barry Bonds, 2001: 73 home runs.
• Mark McGwire, 1998: 70.
• Sammy Sosa, 1998: 66.
• Mark McGwire, 1999: 65.
• Sammy Sosa, 2001: 64.
• Sammy Sosa, 1999: 63.
• Roger Maris, 1961: 61.
• Babe Ruth, 1927: 60.
• Babe Ruth, 1921: 59.
• Giancarlo Stanton, 2017: 59.
• Jimmie Foxx, 1932: 58.
• Hank Greenberg, 1938: 58.
• Mark McGwire, 1997: 58.
• Ryan Howard, 2006: 58.
• Luis Gonzalez, 2001: 57.
• Alex Rodriguez, 2002: 57.
That said, WFAN legend Mike Francesa has already declared Judge should not be considered the true home run king if he gets to 62.
“The problem is, steroids or no steroids, [Bonds, McGwire and Sosa] dismantled the 61 homers,” the WFAN legend said on a BetRivers podcast in June.
“I know it’s hard to take, but you can’t look at Maris as the regular season home run champ. He’s just not. You can’t ignore those records.”
More on ESNY:
• Craig Carton’s FS1 show has debuted. Some quick thoughts
• Aaron Judge to the Red Sox? It’s possible, but seems like a longshot
• 5 big New York sports talk storylines as fall battle begins
• These under-the-radar Giants rookies could have critical 2022 roles
• Consistency of 2022 Mets is rare sight in franchise history
• Nets’ best-case scenario: From nightmare to championship dream
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