Good morning to everyone but especially to...
AARON JUDGE, AMERICAN LEAGUE HOME RUN KING
Aaron Judge made us wait and wait and wait... until he didn't. After a five-game home run drought, Judge crushed a lead-off blast to left field against the Rangers on Jesús Tinoco's third pitch of the game for his 62nd homer of the season. With the solo shot, Judge passed Roger Maris' mark from 1961 for most by an American League player all-time.
Judge's 62 home runs also now stand alone as seventh-most in MLB history. Here's the entire list:
1. Barry Bonds, 73, 20012. Mark McGwire, 70, 19983. Sammy Sosa, 66, 19984. Mark McGwire, 65, 19995. Sammy Sosa, 64, 20016. Sammy Sosa, 63, 19997. Aaron Judge, 62, 2022More than that, though, it solidifies what we should have already known: The Yankees simply cannot lose Judge this offseason, writes MLB expert Mike Axisa.
Axisa: "Wake-up call isn't the right word. The Yankees know they need Judge... Judge is the best player in baseball right now and by definition that makes him irreplaceable. ... For now, Judge is the new American League home run king, and his unmatched greatness helped the Yankees stave off the largest division collapse in baseball history (no team has blown more than a 13-game lead). His value to the franchise transcends his on-field production and the Yankees can't afford to lose him to free agency, for more reason than one."As for everything else surrounding the historic night...
