ARLINGTON — Aaron Judge smiled and exhaled. It had been almost a week since the Yankees slugger had looked so relaxed, so happy. It had also been almost a week since he had hit a home run. It took just three pitches into the nightcap of a split doubleheader, but Aaron Judge turned on a slider, hammering it into the first row of the left-seat bleachers for his record-setting 62nd home run of the season.
In the 161st game of the season, Judge broke the American League single-season home run record of 61, set by Yankee Roger Maris 61 years ago.
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Judge hammered an 88 mph slider off Rangers right-hander Jesus Tinoco. It traveled 391 feet.
Judge, who led off the game, seemed to know he had the record immediately. He slapped hands with first base coach Travis Chapman and as he turned to round second base, third base coach Luis Rojas tipped his cap to him. Judge jogged into home where his teammates, who had exploded out of the dugout on contact, waited. He shook hands with Giancarlo Stanton, the last man in baseball to hit 59 homers and hugged his way through the pack. Before heading down the dugout stairs, he took off his batting helmet and pointed over to his family, who have followed him for most of this journey since he hit No. 59 in Milwaukee on Sept. 18.
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Judge got one more at-bat, striking out to end the top of the second inning. He went out to right field to start the third, but Aaron Boone sent Oswaldo Cabrera out to replace him, allowing the crowd at Globe Life to give Judge one last standing ovation.
The 62 home runs are obviously the most ever by a Yankee and are 11 behind Barry Bonds’ record of 73 in 2001. Many, like Roger Maris Jr., consider that mark and those of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa tainted. They did it before drug testing in baseball and there is a strong suspicion that they used performance enhancing drugs to reach these numbers.
It was his 28th plate appearance since hitting No. 61 on Sept. 28 in the seventh inning of the Yankees win in Toronto. That ended a seven-game, 34-plate appearance homerless streak for Judge.
He had started each of the Yanks’ last 55 games trying to get this record, including the first game of this doubleheader. Judge went 1-for-4 in that 5-4 Yankees win and showed some frustration. After a high pop-up in the fifth inning, Judge went to the back of the dugout and slammed his batting helmet so hard back in the rack it bounced back out.
“I’m sure he wants to hit it, but I don’t know that he has been much different than what I hear or see out of him, frankly, throughout the year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He lets it out a little bit down there, not much typically.”
Tuesday, Judge had some pitches to hit and was a little more aggressive than he had been before.
He swung at the first pitch he saw, a 97 mph fastball from right-hander Jon Gray, which he grounded out to third. Gray got him to foul off a 98 mph fastball and swing past an 84 mph slider in the third inning. He flew out to right field on a 1-2 fastball. In the fifth inning, he popped up a 2-2 slider to the first baseman.
“He’s gotten some pitches to hit here the last couple days. In general, he’s gotten a good swing off and fouled it off. And that’s usually that fine line difference between when you’re really rolling or you’re kind of just a tick off,” Boone said. “So I think he’s gotten some pitches instead of really sticking them like he has 61 times or even more, obviously, you know, he’s fouled some balls off, but I don’t think he’s far off. … For everyone involved, even the pitcher, you’re now playing games that aren’t affecting the standings. It’s a little bit of an odd little wrinkle into the competition. There’s probably a little something to that too.
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“But no, as far as his at-bats, where he is and where he is physically, he’s fine.”
And between games, Judge did seem relaxed and fine. He came outside the clubhouse and chatted with his family before the second game.
“He’s just going about his business like normal. You know, he’s the ultimate professional,” catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “We all look up to him and in terms of his demeanor and the way he carries himself and just every single day, I think I think he’s almost an inspiration for us. Just in terms of composure and the way he goes about his business.”
