Aaron Judge writes baseball history to equal legendary home run record Yankees | Other sports

By Wietse Dijkstra

Judge contributed to the (8-3) win over the Blue Jays in Toronto with the much-anticipated hit in the seventh inning, but that result was just a sideshow this time. The most talked-about man in American baseball has been in the spotlight for months since it became clear that he could break Roger Maris’ 61-year-old Yankees record.

While Maris was ridiculed by some of the supporters in 1961 for dethroning Babe Ruth – the best and most popular Yankees player ever – Judge is widely acclaimed as a boy of the club. When he strikes at Yankee Stadium, all the spectators invariably stand (‘here comes the Judge, all rise’).

And when he hit home run number 60 last Tuesday, he was on the front pages. That record was broken, the only question was when. With his family and Roger Maris’s family in the stands for days so as not to miss the historic moment, Judge managed to keep the cameras on him at every at bat. After seven games (31 at bats) without success, he finally hit the ball over the wall last night.

Judge raised many eyebrows in America at the beginning of this season when he carelessly let a new contract worth 213.5 million euros run. He could have earned that amount if he had signed up for seven years in New York. But Judge estimated himself above the 30.5 million a year the Yankees were offering him, so he chose to retire after this season. free agent to be.

That decision was not without risk, of course, but under the maximum pressure he put on himself, Judge performed better than ever this year. As a result, the Yankees slugger can sign an even fatter contract after his unlikely season – with the highest bidder.

But that’s for later concern, because Judge’s hunger hasn’t been sated this year. Apart from the fact that he can help the Yankees to the first ‘world title’ since 2009 – the title in the American League East has already been won – he has a chance to win the so-called Triple Crown. Not only does Judge have the most home runs (61), but also the most runs batted in (128 RBI) and the highest batting average (.313) in the American League. In the latter category, he is on a par with Luis Arraez (Twins), while Orange-international Xander Bogaerts (.309) is also one of his competitors.

That too would be a milestone for Judge. In the entire history of MLB, only ten players have captured a Triple Crown. Miguel Cabrera was the last in 2012. But Judge’s most imaginative performance is, of course, his home run record. America has been banned for a long time.

That was also the country in 1961 when the relatively unknown Roger Maris was involved in a neck-and-neck race with Mickey Mantle. At the time, it seemed impossible to improve on the performance of Babe Ruth, who had set a new standard with 60 home runs in 1927. Maris won the battle against his much more beloved teammate, who was stuck on 52 home runs due to an injury.

However, he never became undisputed. In fact, Puritans felt that Maris should not lay claim to the record, because the expansion of the MLB made him play more games (162) than Ruth 34 years earlier (154). Maris hit his 61st home run on the last day of play, after 154 games he was 59.

Nevertheless, he remained the man to beat in the American League for 61 years. In the National League, his performance has already been improved six times. Mark McGwire (70) and Sammy Sosa (66) did so in a battle that occupied America for the first time in 1998. Barry Bonds has been the absolute record holder in the MLB since 2001 with 73 home runs.

But McGwire, Sosa and Bonds were knocking balls out of the stadium at a time when the use of steroids in American baseball was rife. That is also why in the US they attach so much importance to Judge’s impressive figures, for whom, in contrast to the suspect three, will be given a place in the Hall of Fame.