American baseball player Aaron Judge
Credit: © Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

Aaron Judge, one of the best players in Major League Baseball (MLB), hit his 62nd home run of the season on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. The previous record was set by Roger Maris back in 1961 with 61 home runs in a season. Before Maris, Babe Ruth held the record with 60 home runs. Judge batted the fateful home run in a game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Judge, a powerful right fielder, plays for the New York Yankees in the American League (AL). Judge is unusually large for an MLB player. He stands 6 feet 7 inches (2 meters) tall. Judge has displayed an exceptional ability to hit home runs. In 2017, in his first full MLB season, Judge set a rookie record by hitting 52 home runs—the most in the American League that year. (Pete Alonso of the New York Mets broke Judge’s record in 2019 by hitting 53.) In 2017, Judge also led the league in runs scored (128) and walks (127) and finished second in runs batted in (114), behind Nelson Cruz (119). He was named AL Rookie of the Year. Judge throws and hits right-handed. He has been named to four AL All-Star teams.

Aaron James Judge was born on April 26, 1992, in Linden, California. He excelled at baseball, basketball, and football in high school. Judge played baseball at California State University, Fresno, before being drafted by the Yankees in 2013. He played in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut in August 2016.

Roger Maris ​​held the major league record for home runs in one season from 1961 to 1998. Maris had set the record when he hit 61 homers in 1961. His team, the New York Yankees, played a 162-game schedule that year. In 1927, Babe Ruth, also a Yankee, hit 60 homers in a 154-game schedule. Both totals were considered records until 1991, when Maris’s 61 homers were recognized as the sole record. The record stood until 1998, when Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit 70 home runs. McGwire hit 583 career home runs, the 11th most in MLB history, but performance-enhancing drug (PED) use tarnished his career. He was a 12-time All-Star and led his league in home runs four times, including a then-MLB record 70 in 1998. Despite these achievements, McGwire has received little support for entering the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds later smashed McGwire’s record, hitting 73 home runs in 2001 with the San Francisco Giants. However, similar allegations have haunted that achievement.

May 6, 2016

One hundred and one years ago—May 6, 1915—a 20-year old pitcher named George Ruth stepped to the plate for the Boston Red Sox. It was the young lefty’s first full season in the big leagues and just his 18^th at bat. Then, as now, pitchers were paid to pitch, and very few were adept hitters. So when that kid pitcher crushed his first home run into the right field bleachers at New York City’s Polo Grounds, people took notice. That young pitcher—who had already earned the nickname “Babe” for his youthful appearance—strode around the bases like he’d done it before. He hadn’t, but he would do it again 713 more times. After that game, New York American sportswriter Damon Runyan commented on the Babe’s rare hitting prowess: “Fanning [striking out] this Ruth is not as easy as the name and the occupation might indicate.”

Babe Ruth was also known as the Bambino or the Sultan of Swat.
Credit: AP Photo

Babe Ruth, of course, went on to become one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He began his career as a starting pitcher, however, and a very good one. He won 18 games his rookie season, and 23 more with an American League-leading 1.75 ERA in 1916. By 1918, however, batting once ever four games wasn’t enough for Ruth, or the Red Sox. He began playing the outfield in-between pitching starts, and soon other teams began fearing his bat more than his arm.

With Ruth, the Red Sox won the World Series in 1915, 1916, and again in 1918. Mistakenly thinking their charmed life was permanent, the Red Sox sold Ruth to the New York Yankees after the 1919 season. Ruth flourished with the Yankees, who made him a full-time outfielder, and the Yankees flourished with him. During Ruth’s 15 seasons as a Yankee, the team played in 7 World Series and won 4 of them. The Red Sox went the other direction, failing to win another World Series until 2004.

Ruth led the American league in home runs in 1918, 1919, and 10 more times over the next 12 seasons. His 1927 record of 60 stood until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. He hit 714 career home runs: 659 with the Yankees, 49 with the Red Sox, and 6 in his final season as a Boston Brave. His career home run total was the most ever until Hank Aaron hit number 715 in 1974. The Babe made the home run the most popular and exciting play in baseball, hence the homer’s many appellations: big fly, dinger, goner, gopher ball, moon shot, round-tripper, tater, and so on…

For the record. Ruth started four games as a pitcher for the Yankees (one each in 1920, 1921, 1930, and 1933), and appeared once in relief. His record in those five games? 5-0. Oh, and the Babe’s first home run 101 years ago? It was against the Yankees.