With these latest two home runs, Judge edged closer to immortalizing his season in Yankees lore alongside Babe Ruth’s 60 home runs in 1927 and Roger Maris’ record 61 in 1961, which has also stood as the American League record for 61 years.
Judge’s first homer of Tuesday night — a 383-foot drive through right-center field — tied the game at three in the third inning.
His next one was even bigger, as he blasted a high ball 389 feet through to deep left field and into the stands to tie the game at 4-4 in the sixth.
“You really just don’t look at it. If you’re checking the numbers, you’re gonna get caught,” Judge said afterwards, according to ESPN.
“I just keep trying to do what I can do, and the numbers will take care of themselves. If I have a good plan and have a good approach, do what I need to do in the box, all that other stuff will show up.”
As well as Maris’ American League record, Judge is now within sight of several other landmarks.
He is one homer short of tying the AL record for right-handed hitters, currently held by Hank Greenberg (1938) and Jimmie Foxx (1932); has now notched up 20 more home runs than the next highest total in the MLB this season — the first time such a gap has existed since the final day of the 1928 season; and achieved his 10th multi-homer game of the season on Tuesday, just one behind the major league record of 11.
“I’m out of adjectives. Just really impressive,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, according to ESPN. “To take one out the other way, and then get [Red Sox pitcher Garrett] Whitlock on a breaking ball, he’s riding balls out so well… Just in such good hitting position and so strong and lays the bat in the zone to ride it out so long that he gets a good piece of it and puts it up in the light stand. Just amazing what he’s doing.”
If Judge is able to finish the season with 65 homers — which would require one every 2.5 games — it would be the fifth 65-plus home run season in MLB history.
The most ever in a single season was by Barry Bonds in 2001 when he finished with 73.