Aarron Judge Set To Break Roger Marris Record

BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge has to be the one to break Roger Maris record to keep it in the Yankee family.

Roger Maris record of 61 homeruns set in 1961 a record that has stood for 61 years means a great deal in both the history of the American League and to the New York Yankees. Aaron Judge has hit 59 homeruns so far this season and the “Bronx Bombers,” are at home this week against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox two teams that give up plenty of long balls giving the Yankees star a real shot at breaking the record this week.

The MLB Network and other TV sports outlets will watch his every at bat to see if he can hit number 61 at home. No doubt breaking the record against the Red Sox would just be icing on the cake. 

Baseball fans know that in 1998 both the Cardinals Mark McGuire ended the season with 70 homers followed by the Cubs Sammy Sosa with 66 breaking the 61 mark. In 2001 the Giants Barry Bonds set the present record at 73, all were National League players who were part of the Steroid Era in baseball.  

That is why It is important for Judge to hit 62 homeruns because if he does that will mean a member of the Yankees would have held the American League single season homerun record for an amazing 95 years. 

When Maris hit his record-breaking 61st on October 1, 1961 it was the final game of the regular season. Maris was popular with the fans, but it was clear the majority of Yankee fans wanted Mickey Mantle who hit 54 homers that year to break Ruth’s record. 

After the 1961 season neither Maris nor Mantle would never come close to hitting 61 homeruns the rest of their careers.  Both would be instrumental to the Yankees World Series appearances in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 but there was no talk of homerun chases.

Maris was traded to St. Louis in 1966 and retired in 1967 while Mantle called it quits a year later in 1968. 

Maris moved to Gainesville, Florida where he and his brother ran a Budweiser distributorship, and he enjoyed a very quiet life with his family. until his death in 1985. 

Billy Crystal wrote and produced a movie about the 1961 season the summer of the M&M Boys, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Released in 2001 the film shows “61” showed the toll it took on both men as they chased Ruth’s record. 

In a 2017 interview with the Washington Post Nationals star outfielder Jason Werth whose grandfather was Dick Schofield, an outstanding shortstop, teammate, and friend of Maris in St. Louis offered his personal view from knowing the family through his grandfather. 

“When you look over the course of baseball history, 61 was the number for a long time,” Werth said. “Until those guys did what they did, it wasn’t even fathomable, really. I kind of came up in that era. I played against Barry Bonds. I played against Sammy Sosa. I’ve seen what these guys can do, and I’ll tell you: They’re some of the most special, talented athletes that have ever played this game. I would not take anything away from those guys. But I do think that number — 61 — is significant and is quite a feat, regardless of what anyone else has done.”

The Maris family will be watching TV this weekend in Florida there are no plans on being at Yankee Stadium. That doesn’t mean they won’t be thinking of their father. 

“It’s always nice to see dad brought back in the public eye a little bit for his accolades in baseball. He accomplished a lot in the game. We couldn’t be prouder in what he accomplished. Sixty-one is a unique number,” Kevin Maris, one of Roger’s sons, said in an interview  MLB.com in August. “… But (we) would be excited for (Judge if) he is able to achieve (the) monumental task. It’s something that is a unique record, one of the best in sports. Hitting a baseball is not easy. To accomplish that, you have done it over a season, not just one game or one at-bat.”

The award-winning movie 61 is now streaming on HBO Max and Hulu. Meanwhile, Judge will be hard to miss on the MLB Network. 

(Additional reporting provided by Virginia Van Zandt)

Edited by Virginia Van Zandt