Posted on 10/01/2017 5:24:43 AM PDT by EliRoom8
New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge made history Saturday afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays when he hit his 52nd home run of the season and 33rd at Yankee Stadium.
According to Newsday's Laura Albanese, Judge passed Babe Ruth to set the single-season franchise home record. ESPN Stats & Info noted Ruth's mark was established in 1921, when the Yankees played at the Polo Grounds.
Fox Sports MLB relayed video of the record-setting solo blast, which traveled 484 feet, according to the New York Daily News' Mike Mazzeo.
(Excerpt) Read more at bleacherreport.com ...
The Yankees selected Judge in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft. After making his MLB debut in 2016 and hitting a home run in his first career at bat, Judge went on to have a record-breaking rookie season in 2017. He was named an All-Star and won the Home Run Derby, the first rookie to do so. He broke the Yankees' record for home runs by a rookie (besting Joe DiMaggio's 29 with 30 before the All-Star break). He won the American League's (AL) Rookie of the Month Awards for April, May, and June, as well as the AL's Player of the Month Award for June. Judge set a new MLB rookie record for home runs, surpassing Mark McGwire's total of 49 with 52. Judge also broke the Yankees franchise record for most home runs hit at home by a Yankee, previously established by Babe Ruth in 1921.
If he can hit two today, he will match Mickey Mantle’s output in the M&M year of 1961.
Not to take away from his record but didn’t the Babe hit his in fewer games and a shorter season?
Sorry, I’ve been overseas and not following the game. Is he a rookie???
Does it matter?
A different stadium too. I can’t believe the distance he got on this latest one.
MVP.
The kid is awesome. And huge. 6’7” 283. And humble......Jeteresque.
If he stays healthy and keeps off of the juice, he’ll have a HOF career and break many more records
Marilyn Monroe
There’s an asterisk for that.
#3 and a ball that was different
Yes and I assume rookie of the year.
Too tall and too heavy to have any resemblance.
And intentionally walked more often. So it evens out.
A few weeks ago when the Indians were playing the Red Sox, Indians radio play-by-play man Tom Hamilton said Red Sox rookie Rafael Devers was better than Judge.
Goes to show what an idiot Hamilton is.
I can’t stand him, but the Indians are my team.
They gonna put an asterisk next to it due to more home games played? [/s]
The juiced ball records mean nothing
The balls have been “juiced”. These records are meaningless, other than proof MLB wanted more offense and modified the ball to get it.
https://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2017/06/baseball-s-power-surge
No position player (i.e. non-pitcher) in the history of Major League baseball has exceeded him in both height and weight. Some have been taller, some heavier, but no one has exceeded him in both categories.
In other words, Babe set his record in an era where all games were played during the day. Secondly, travel was as simple as riding a train to Boston, Philly, DC. (Thirdly, double-headers were common, and of course played during the day.)
So, is it a toss up? In the current era, you need to be able to practically exclusively play under lights at night. You also need to deal with the fatigue of air travel and long stretches on the road.
An easy constant is player condition: there is simply no comparison between athlete fitness today and back in Babe's day. Imagine the output a player like Judge could achieve if he was able to play under the kinds of easy, relaxing situations Babe enjoyed. OTOH, imagine the output of Babe if he was a modern player focused on physical fitness and longevity.
This kind of give & take is what makes sports debates interesting.
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