New York Yankees star Aaron Judge broke a 61-year-old record when he hit his 62nd home run in a game against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.
The bat made history by breaking the American League record for single-season home runs held by Roger Maris since 1961. Maris, in turn, had broken Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs, which he had set in 1927. The judge tied Maris for 60 home runs last week when the Yankees took on the Toronto Blue Jays.
Judge may have broken the American League record, but the Major League and National League record for home runs in a single season is 73, set by Barry Bonds in 2001 while playing for the San Francisco Giants. For the Yankees star, Bonds’ record is the one he has to beat, he recently said sports illustrated.
“73 is the record,” Judge told the publication. “In my book. No matter what people want to say about that era of baseball, for me, they went out and hit 73 homers and 70 homers, and that’s the record for me. The AL record is 61, so that’s one , which I can kind of follow up on. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it’s been a fun year so far.”
Actor Billy Crystal reacted to Judge’s home run and recalled seeing Maris set the homer record as a teenager in 1961.
“I was 13 when I saw Maris at number 61. Watching Aaron hit #62 tonight made me feel like I was 13 again. What an exciting moment. What an exciting season,” Crystal tweeted.
President Joe Biden also tweeted a congratulatory message to Richter “on home run 62,” adding, “Making history, making more history.”