On Tuesday evening, there was a gasp, followed by a moment of stillness, and then an explosion of joy that could be felt in the center of Texas. Aaron Judge, a slugger for the New York Yankees, hit a home run over the wall in left field off of the Texas Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco.
At 7:08 p.m. Central Time, Judge used to be the American League home run king with his 62nd home game back from injury, surpassing the record that was set by former Yankee Roger Maris in 1961. Maris’ record had stood for 61 years.
Maris’ AL and Yankees Record
The players for the Yankees ran out of the dugout to congratulate Judge at home plate, while the players for the Rangers remained there in stunned silence. The sellout audience of 38,832 people shouted till their lungs burned.
The judge has added his name to the pantheon of great second-home run hitters. He was joining the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa on the Mount Rushmore of a single production run hitters after having one of the best seasons in baseball history.
Judge, who had been on track to smash the record-setting home run two weeks ago, has struggled of late, hitting only one home run in the previous 13 games, covering 58 plate appearances.
This was after Judge had been on track to hit the record-setting home run two weeks earlier. After matching Babe Ruth with his 60th home run, he hit.200 through a double, a home run, 17 walks, and 13 strikeouts in his subsequent games.
Aaron Boone said that he’s had some pitches to hit here over the last couple of days, and in general he’s gotten a nice swing off and fouled it off. That is often the thin line that separates when you are truly rolling and when you are just a tick off.
I believe that he has received some pitches, but rather than making solid contact with them like he has 61 times before, he has probably fouled some balls off. However, I don’t believe he’s too far off the mark.
As Judge made his way around the bases, a smile came out on his face as he took in the excitement of the situation. He spent several months pursuing history. The stressful situation was resolved now.
That Day History Was Created: From Yankees
After hitting a pop-up on an 84-mph slider thrown by Rangers starter Jon Gray in the opening game of the doubleheader, Judge slapped his helmet down in the dugout. It was the only time throughout the whole home run chase that he seemed irritated.
The judge faced tough competition from the Rangers throughout the game, but he was only able to collect one single in five at-bats, resulting in a decrease in his batting average to.310.
Boone said, “I mean, I’m sure he wants to hit it,” but he added that it hasn’t been much different from what he hears or sees out of him during the year. “Frankly, it hasn’t been much different.”
The only people who were even more frustrated were the spectators, who jeered at Judge after he hit a single up the middle in the eighth inning of the first game and again when he grounded out to close the game.
Judge Is Anticipating More Developments
He still has a chance to win the Triple Crown, which would make him the first Yankee player to do it since Mickey Mantle and just the second player in the previous 55 years to do so. The judge thought it would be wonderful if his horse won the Triple Crown.
Judge is a lock to win the home run and RBI championships since he leads the league by 23 and 7 respectively, but he is currently behind Luis Arraez of the Minnesota Twins in batting average, which sits at.310.
Last weekend at Yankee Stadium, Judge’s hitting average took a knock as he went 0-for-7 with six strikeouts, five walks, and a hit-by-pitch in a total of 13 at-bats.
This caused his average to drop significantly. During the first two games of the series against the Rangers, he went 2-for-9, prompting Rangers General Manager Chris Young to urge his team’s pitchers to push him.