Babe Ruth has some more company.
Aaron Judge became just the third Yankee to hit 60 home runs in a season on Tuesday night, when he homered off Wil Crowe of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth inning in The Bronx. The solo shot made it an 8-5 Pirates lead before Giancarlo Stanton delivered a walk-off grand slam to lift the Yankees to a 9-8 win.
After Judge’s home run, Anthony Rizzo doubled, Gleyber Torres walked and Josh Donaldson singled to load the bases with no outs. Stanton promptly delivered a bullet line drive over the left field wall to lift the complete the comeback and historic day.
“[Judge’s home run] sparked all of us, helped us get the win,” Stanton said on the YES broadcast after the game. “He’s been doing it all year. And he’s not done. He’s gonna put on a show for all of us in here.”
He joins Ruth, who hit 60 in 1927, and Roger Maris, the American League and franchise record-holder, who hit 61 in 1961.
It’s the latest feat in a remarkable season for Judge, who still has 15 games to go to catch Maris.
After turning down the Yankees’ seven-year, $213.5 million extension on Opening Day, Judge now has an opportunity to head to free agency coming off a historic season, one in which he’s also making a run at becoming the first player since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012 to win the Triple Crown.
And while Ruth set his record while at the center of Murderer’s Row, with fellow Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs and Tony Lazzeri — as well as Bob Meusel — producing at high levels all season, the 30-year-old Judge has almost single-handedly kept the Yankees in first place in the AL East with his heroics, as the lineup has been without Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton and Andrew Benintendi for long stretches in the second half.
Aaron Judge crushes his 60th home run of the season to tie Babe Ruth’s mark. Getty Images
Aaron Judge rounds the bases after his 60th homer of the season. Getty Images
Aaron Judge has matched Babe Ruth’s career-high of 60 home runs.Bettmann ArchiveThrough it all, Judge has kept producing results at a furious pace.
The only questions left this season are how many homers will Judge end up with and will he get his average up high enough to win the batting title and capture the Triple Crown?
After that, Judge will be looking at even bigger numbers.
