Yankees star Judge hits 61st home run, ties Maris' AL record

TORONTO (AP) — Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season, hitting a tiebreaking, two-run drive for the New York Yankees in the seventh inning that led them over Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Wednesday night.

Aaron Judge has written his name alongside Roger Maris in baseball's record books.

Judge’s mother Patty and Roger Maris Jr.

“Getting to share this moment with my mom and also try to give a little nod to Roger Maris Jr., it means a lot that he shows up here.”.

Judge moved past the 60 home runs Babe Ruth hit in 1927, which had stood as the major league mark until Maris broke it in 1961.

Judge had gone seven games without a home run — his longest drought this season was nine in mid-August.

Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs for the St.

Major League Baseball started testing with penalties for PEDs in 2004, and some fans — perhaps many — until now have considered Maris the holder of the “clean” record.

Nap Lajoie hit 14 in the AL’s first season as a major league in 1901, and Philadelphia Athletics teammate Socks Seabold had 16 the next year, a mark that stood until Babe Ruth hit 29 in 1919.

Ruth set the record four times in all, with 54 in 1920, 59 in 1921 and 60 in 1927, a mark that stood until Maris’ 61 in 1961.

Maris was at 35 in July 1961 during the first season each team’s schedule increased from 154 games to 162, and baseball Commissioner Ford Frick ruled if anyone topped Ruth in more than 154 games “there would have to be some distinctive mark in the record books to show that Babe Ruth’s record was set under a 154-game schedule.”

4, 1991, when a committee on statistical accuracy chaired by Commissioner Fay Vincent voted unanimously to recognize Maris as the record holder