Yankees' Aaron Judge hits 61st home run of the season, ties AL record

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge tied the MLB American League (AL) record for most home runs in a single season Wednesday night during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Pitched to by Toronto Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza, Judge hit his 61st home run of the season into the Blue Jays bullpen during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game.

With Aaron Hicks on first base, Judge hit the record-tying homer on a 3-2 count to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead. 

Tonight’s game is the third of a three-game series between the Yankees and the Jays, the last time the teams will face each other in the 2022 regular season.

In the first two games at Rogers Centre, Judge walked six times and stayed at 60 home runs. The Yankees won Tuesday’s game 5-2, clinching the AL East title.

The first game of the series, on Monday, saw the Jays beat the Yankees 3-2 in a walkoff in the bottom of the tenth.

WHO’S HIT THE MOST HOME RUNS HIT IN THE MLB?

Judge now shares the AL record with Yankees player Roger Maris, who hit 61 homers in the 1961 season. Before Maris, Babe Ruth set the AL record at 60 home runs, albeit during a shorter season, in 1927.

While the American League record was tied tonight, the MLB record remains intact.

Barry Bonds currently holds the MLB record for most home runs hit in a season, with 73 in the 2001 season while playing in the National League for the San Francisco Giants. However, some contest Bond’s record, as it came at a time of massive performance-enhancing drug scandals in the league.

The remaining National League players who’ve hit more than 61 home runs in any season are Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, at 70 and 66 respectively both in the 1998 season.

In 2009, The New York Times reported that Sosa was one of 104 players who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in an anonymous 2003 survey. The substance was never identified and Sosa never made a public statement regarding the alleged use of drugs.

In 2010, McGwire admitted to using steroids on and off for more than a decade during his career.