Yankees slugger Aaron Judge became the third American League player to hit 60 homers in a season, reaching the milestone on Tuesday in New York against Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Wil Crowe.
Judge hit a solo shot in the ninth inning to cut the Yankees’ deficit to 8-5. He had gone hitless in his first three at-bats on the night. Four batters later, Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam to give New York a stunning 9-8 win.
The 30-year-old outfielder sits one homer behind the American League record set by Roger Maris with the Yankees in 1961. Yankees legend Babe Ruth was the long-time single-season leader with the 60 he belted in 1927.
Barry Bonds set the major league record with 73 homers for the San Francisco Giants in 2001. Mark McGwire topped the 60-homer mark in 1998 (then-record 70) and 1999 (65) for the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa put up seasons of 66 homers in 1998, 63 in 1999 and 64 in 2001.
Judge has nine home runs in 16 games this month, including three in his past two contests.
–Field Level Media
