Aaron Judge finds support from Yankees legend’s relative amid home-run chase
Aaron Judge is one home run away from becoming the first MLB player to eclipse the 60-homer mark in a single season since Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa did it in 2001.
The New York Yankees star is coming up to 60 home runs and is only two away from tying the American League-record mark with Roger Maris. His 60th and then some could come as soon as this week, as the team opens up a two-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates and then a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
All eyes will be on Judge as he pursues the record.
One of those people watching the slugger would be a relative of “The Great Bambino” himself, Babe Ruth. The legendary baseball player initially held the record for most home runs in a single season at 60 in 1927 before Maris, Bonds, Sosa and Mark McGwire would top him.
Tom Stevens, who is the son of Ruth’s second wife Julia Ruth Stevens, told the New York Post on Tuesday that Judge and Ruth’s home runs are similar in a way.
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“I would say Judge’s towering shots are reminiscent of the Babe’s,” he told the outlet. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”
Stevens said he is in Judge’s corner in the pursuit.
“Everything I hear about him is that he’s a nice young man, and you want somebody like that to do well,” he said.
“He’s got a nice swing. … You look for him to be a bit clumsy in the field because he is so large, but he’s acrobatic and very athletic. They always talked about the sound of when Babe hit the ball, that it was different than when anybody else hit, and they say the same of Judge. But Babe’s lifetime slugging percentage (.690), nobody will ever touch.”
Judge is not only entering home-run-record territory, but he is also in the midst of an American League Triple Crown as well.
He leads the American League in two of the three key categories – home runs (59) and RBI (127). His .316 batting average is just .001 off of Minnesota Twins first baseman Luis Arraez.
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