Aaron Judge hits 61st home run to tie American League record

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Aaron Judge hits 61st home run to tie American League record

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after hitting his 61st home run of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Wednesday to tie Roger Maris for the American League record.  [AFP/YONHAP]

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after hitting his 61st home run of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Wednesday to tie Roger Maris for the American League record. [AFP/YONHAP]

 
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the 2022 MLB season on Wednesday, tying the American League single season home run record set by Roger Maris in 1961.
 
Judge’s 61st big fly came off a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios, the same pitcher that gave up Judge’s very first home run of the 2022 season.
 
Maris’ 61 home run season led the entire major league until 1998, when Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs, with Barry Bonds setting the current MLB record of 73 homers in 2001.
 
 
With seven games remaining this season, Judge is extremely unlikely to come close to the Bonds record, which was set at a time when home run numbers shot through the roof as the majors struggled to grapple with a performance enhancing drug problem.
 
If Judge goes further than 61, which based on current form does seem likely, he won’t just have beaten the American League record, but will also have hit the most home runs of any player ever that we can say with some confidence is not taking steroids.  
 
The 61 mark has been broken six times: Once by Bonds with 73 in 2001; twice by McGwire with 70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999; and by Sammy Sosa three times, with 66 in 1998, 64 in 2001 and 63 in 1999.  
 
The MLB began actively testing for steroids in 2003, with Sosa later banned for use of performance enhancing drugs. McGwire has publicly admitted to taking steroids, while Bonds has regularly faced accusations of steroid use.
 
The majors now regularly test for steroid use, leaving Judge as potentially the first player to pass the 61 mark without any doubt cast over how sportingly he reached the milestone.
 
The Yankees will face the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend, before rounding off their season the road with a four-game series against the Texas Rangers.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
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