MLB Twitter Praises Aaron Judge Breaking Roger Maris' Home Run Record With 62
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVOctober 5, 2022
Aaron Judge has made history.
The New York Yankees slugger blasted home run No. 62 on Tuesday, the most ever hit in one season among American League players.
MLB @MLBRemember where you were when <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AaronJudge?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AaronJudge</a> made history. 6️⃣2️⃣ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllRise?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllRise</a> <a href="https://t.co/w4kbDJf5ZC">pic.twitter.com/w4kbDJf5ZC</a>
Unsurprisingly, Twitter gave the man his flowers after the historic achievement:
The previous record-holder was the Yankees' Roger Maris, who hit 61 home runs in 1961. Keeping in the tradition of Yankees holding the record, he had passed Babe Ruth and his 60 homers from the 1927 season.
Judge won't be setting the MLB record for single-season homers, though. He sits just seventh in the all-time list:
- Barry Bonds: 73 in 2001
- Mark McGwire: 70 in 1998
- Sammy Sosa: 66 in 1988
- McGwire: 65 in 1999
- Sosa: 64 in 2001
- Sosa: 63 in 1999
Given that Bonds, McGwire and Sosa were linked to steroids, some consider Judge's achievement the de facto MLB record. Officially, however, Bonds still holds the mark.
Seth Emerson @SethWEmersonMy opinion, which nobody asked for but it’s my account: The Bonds, McGwire, Sosa records are tainted and not really the record, but I’m also not that into the Judge chase or whether that’s the record, and that’s what’s sad about the steroid era: It made the records irrelevant. <a href="https://t.co/19EzVMEZXK">https://t.co/19EzVMEZXK</a>
But Judge holding the record for the Yankees and the entire American League—topping historical figures such as Ruth, Maris, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson, among others—is nothing worth diminishing.
"That's one thing so special about the Yankees organization, is all the guys that came before us and kind of paved the way and played the game the right way, did things the right way, did a lot of great things in this game, and getting a chance to be mentioned with those guys now is, I can't even describe it, it's an incredible honor that's for sure," Judge told reporters after tying Maris' mark.
"I got to believe it's right there with some of the best very short list of all-time seasons," his manager, Aaron Boone, added at the time. "I go back to the context of the season, and the more I look at it and dive into it, it's got to be an all-time great season."
At the very least, it appears Judge will beat out Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani for the AL MVP award. There's little doubt he's compiled a special season for the Yankees as they prepare for an October postseason run.