New York Yankees slugger and AL MVP frontrunner Aaron Judge took one stepper closer to home run history Tuesday night. Judge swatted his MLB-leading 56th home run against Red Sox righty Nick Pivetta, and is now five behind Roger Maris' American League single-season record of 61 homers set in 1961.
Here is Judge's 56th homer of 2022. As has been the case since he hit No. 53 earlier this month, every home run from here on out is a new career high.
Judge is looking to become the sixth player in history to 60 home runs in a season, joining Barry Bonds (73 in 2001), Mark McGwire (70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999), Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 64 in 2001, and 63 in 1999), Maris (61 in 1961), and Babe Ruth (60 in 1927).
Maris' 61 homers in 1961 is also the Yankees' franchise record, though Judge owns the franchise's single-season record for right-handed batters. The previous record was 54 by Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
Judge entered Tuesday with a .307/.410/.679 batting line to go along with his 55 homers and MLB-leading 121 RBI. He has climbed into fifth place in the batting race and is challenging for the Triple Crown in addition to the AL's single-season home run record.
The Yankees are playing their 142nd game of the season Tuesday, giving Judge another 20 games to chase Maris' record.
