All Rise! Aaron Judge Hits his 62nd Home Run -

By Zachary Lichter

On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge hit his sixty-second home run of the regular season against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Judge’s sixty-second home run passed former Yankees right fielder Roger Maris, who led the American League in home runs. Judge tied Maris’s record for the most home runs in the American League on Wednesday, September 28, when he hit a two-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. He also passed Babe Ruth when he hit his sixtieth home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium. With Judge’s sixty-second home run, he now leads the American League with the most home runs in a single season.

When Judge hit the home run, the ball went 391 feet into left field and landed in Section 31, Row 1, Seat 3. Cory Youmans caught the ball, the vice president of a branch at Fisher Investments. The Yankees are looking to keep the ball and would be willing to bid for it considering that Aaron Judge’s home run is now a piece of Yankees history. The ball would be worth up to two million dollars. After Judge hit his home run, Youmans was escorted by security personnel because they wanted to know what his plans were for the ball. Youmans plans are still undecided.

After Judge reached home plate, his teammates made their way to the field so they could embrace him. Judge hugged every player and coach in sight as he made his way into the dugout. While the ball was being hit, Judge’s parents, Patty and Wayne, were in attendance. Patty Judge wasn’t paying attention until her husband Wayne pointed out that her son hit the home run. When Judge took his position in right field, there were chants for “M-V-P!” from the audience. He ended up tipping his hat to acknowledge the fans.

The most home runs ever hit in a single season by a player in MLB history was when Barry Bonds hit seventy-three home runs in 2001. Mark McGuire would follow Bonds by hitting seventy home runs in 1998 and sixty-five home runs in 1999. Sammy Sosa would then hit sixty-six home runs in 1998, sixty-three home runs in 1999, and sixty-four home runs in 2001. Bonds, McGuire, and Sosa would end up being under allegations of performance-enhancing drugs. Judge has not been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs and is most likely to hold a clean home run record.

Judge was not the only Yankee to have a record setting performance that night: Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole also set the record for the most strikeouts in Yankees history by passing Ron Guidry’s strikeout record set in 1978. Both players celebrated with their teammates in the clubhouse after the Yankees lost 3-2 against the Rangers.