October 4, 2022: Aaron Judge Hits His 62nd Home Run of the Season

October 4, 2022: First batter of the game between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers: Aaron Judge. Pitcher: Jesus Tinoco. On a 1-1 count, Judge drilled a ball deep into the left-field stands at Globe Life Park in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, 391 feet.

It was his 62nd home run of the season, surpassing Roger Maris, the most that any American League player -- the most that any player has ever hit without evidence of cheating -- in a single season in the 152-season history of Major League Baseball.

As for the rest of the game: Giancarlo Stanton, who hit 59 with the Miami Marlins in 2017, hit a home run in the 5th inning, but that was all that the Yankees were going to get. Gerrit Cole started for them, and pitched 6 innings, striking out 9, setting a new Yankee single-season record of 257 strikeouts, breaking the 1978 record of 248 set by Ron Guidry. But he didn't get the run support he needed. After the Stanton homer, the Yankees got only 2 baserunners, both walks. The Rangers won, 3-2.

It was the 2nd game of a doubleheader, forced by the postponement of the 1st week of the regular season due to the MLB lockout. The Yankees won the 1st game, 5-4.

There was 1 game left to play in the regular season, and Judge was given the day off, so he finished the season with 62 home runs. He also led the AL with 131 RBIs, and batted .311, which was nearly enough to win the AL batting title and thus the Triple Crown.

Judge, who grew up in Linden, California, less than 100 miles from San Francisco, and grew up as a San Francisco Giants fan, told an interviewer that the 73 home runs hit by Barry Bonds in 2001, recognized as the official MLB record in spite of his proven cheating, should still be considered the real record.

He is the only person who could look better instead of worse by saying that. Everybody else saying that Bonds holds "the real record" is saying 1 of 2 things:

A. "I don't believe that Bonds cheated." Which makes them dumb. Or:

B. "I know that Bonds cheated, but I don't care." Which makes them rotten.

And don't tell me that throwing out Bonds' record means you have to throw out all pre-1947, pre-Integration records. That's not the same thing at all. As evil as it was, it was the owners doing it. It wasn't the players choosing to take an unfair advantage. Babe Ruth's 60 in 1927 was legitimate. Roger Maris' 61 in 1961 was legitimate. Aaron Judge's 62 in 2022 is legitimate. The totals exceeding those by Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are bogus.

Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Aaron Judge. All Yankees. All right fielders.

UPDATE: The difference was, when Ruth hit 60 in 1927, the Yankees won the World Series; when Maris hit 61 in 1961, the Yankees won the World Series; when Judge hit 62 in 2022, the Yankees were knocked out of the Playoffs in the American League Division Series. The 1927 and 1961 editions of the Yankees are considered finalists for the title of greatest team of all time. The 2022 edition is considered a failure, in spite of Judge's feat.

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October 4, 2022 was a Tuesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Mets swept a doubleheader from the Washington Nationals at Citi Field, 8-0 and 4-2. In the opener, Taijuan Walker (4 1/3rd innings), Stephen Nogosek (2 2/3rds, winning pitcher) and Tylor Megill (2) combined on a 9-hit shutout, striking out 17 and walking none. The nightcap was the Mets' 100th win of the season, the 4th time they had reached that milestone.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-0 at Fenway Park in Boston, in a game shortened to 5 innings due to rain, a remnant of Hurricane Ian that had devastated Florida and also soaked the Carolinas a few days earlier.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins, 2-1 at LoanDepot Park in Miami.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Juan Yepez singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-0 at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Eric Lauer (6 innings) and 2 relievers combined on a 1-hit shutout.

* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-0 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. Justin Verlander and 2 relievers pitched 8 innings of no-hit ball, before Will Smith allowed 3 hits in the 9th. Combined, the Astro pitchers struck out 16 and walked 2.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels, 2-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the RingCentral Coliseum). Ryan Tepera walked Shea Langeliers with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving the A's the win.

* And the Seattle Mariners swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers, 7-6 and 9-6 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Abraham Toro won the 1st game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th.

* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays were rained out at Camden Yards in Baltimore.