Roger Maris was just 27 years old when he made home run history in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs.
Maris went on to have a notable career as an outfielder, but he never again attempted to match his own record, hitting 33 home runs in 1962 before injuries began to affect him.
Aaron Judge said he’s thinking about bigger things than trying to pass Maris’ American League record of 62 home runs in 2022.
But all eyes will surely be on Judge, who hit 34 home runs by the All-Star break.
When Judge set the record on Oct. 4, 2022, Roger Maris Jr. was in Texas and accompanied the Yankees to watch Judge approach the record.
These days, Maris Jr. sees a renewed possibility that Judge could move toward history, even if it’s no longer his father’s record.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on it, but he’s clearly having a similar season to 2022,” Maris Jr. said via text. “Who knows what he’ll be able to do this time around.”
It’s easy to forget now that the record is his, but at various points in the 2022 season, it looked like Judge might pass Maris’ 61.
He got his 60th hit on September 20th with 15 games remaining, then his 61st with the Yankees’ final seven games.
Judge finally broke the record in the 161st game.
If Judge comes close to winning in the second half of the season, that would certainly ease the pressure on him.
And Maris Jr. believes Judge’s experience from two years ago will come in handy.
“He’s been down that road before, and at the end of the second half of the baseball season, people are just going to be shaking their heads in amazement and wondering what Aaron’s ceiling is,” said Maris Jr. “He’s really talented, and we’re hopeful he’ll continue to amaze us in the second half of the season.”
One of the issues this season could be a lack of defense behind Judge. The Yankees have struggled to get much production out of their cleanup hitter this season with Judge batting third behind Juan Soto.
In 2022, Judge batted leadoff frequently, with Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres frequently following him, but Judge was tossed around a fair amount late in the innings.
Still, if Judge can get close to 60 again, Maris Jr. will be there to watch, though he won’t be in the stands.
“I’ll definitely watch it,” Maris Jr. said.
Right-handed pitcher JT Brubaker, acquired from the Pirates in a trade for minor league infielder Keynor Delgado in March, was on a rehab assignment due to a recent oblique injury.
Brubaker is returning from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent last April.
The Yankees added more college pitchers to their minor league system on Day 2 of the amateur draft.
After selecting two college pitchers in the first and second rounds on Sunday, the Yankees selected five more in rounds three through seven on Monday, then selected a position player in the eighth round.
