New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his 55th home of the season in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Judge’s latest blast set the franchise record for most home runs in a season by a right-handed batter. He had been tied with Alex Rodriguez, who tallied 54 home runs in his final MVP season of 2007.
As well, Judge is now just six home runs away from tying Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 set in 1961. Judge is now on pace for 66 home runs this season. He might as well “dream big” and go for Barry Bonds’ MLB record of 73 home runs in a season, as Michael Kay noted during the broadcast.
Judge was 7 for his previous 12 games coming into this game and has now homered in four straight contests. Judge has kept up his MVP pace despite the Yankees’ offense as a whole struggling. However, the rest of the Yankee offense is still having trouble. In similar story, Judge has hit solo home runs in 35 of his season’s 55 at-bats.
#AllRise for the 55th time đ¨ââď¸ pic.twitter.com/eJqbJNpwQh
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 7, 2022
Although the Yankees continue to hold the lead in the American League East, their advantage over the Tampa Bay Rays has shrunk from 15 1/2 as of July 8 to 4 1/2 heading into Wednesday’s action. On the other hand, while Aaron Judge keeps trying to break the record for most home runs, the New York Yankees are still getting ready for their offseason contract talks with the star outfielder.
In a recent interview, team president Randy Levine stated that MVP candidate Aaron Judge is “an all-time Yankee” and that the team “will be extraordinarily competitive” in its efforts to keep him in pinstripes. “We know his worth and what he means,” Levine said on “The Show” podcast.
“I don’t know what’s in his mind. All we can do is show him how much we’d like him to remain a Yankee.” Judge turned down the Yankees’ earlier-in-the-year seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer and is certain to get a more expensive contract as a result of his perhaps record-breaking 2022 campaign.
