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Domingo Germán paid tribute in a different way. The pitcher vividly recalled watching on television from the Dominican Republic as Sosa carried a miniature U.S. flag across Wrigley Field’s outfield, holding the Stars and Stripes high to mark the Cubs’ first home game following the attacks. Tabbed as the starting pitcher on that date twenty-one years later, Germán burst out of the dugout toward Yankee Stadium’s right-field bullpen following a rain delay of nearly two hours, drawing cheers as he re-created Sosa’s red, white, and blue dash. “It was a way to show support to the country, to the people, to the victims,” Germán said.
That night, Boone placed Judge and Stanton in the No. 1 and 2 spots in the lineup, calling the tandem his “two wrecking balls to start it off.” Judge had walked seven times in the previous four games, and Boone explained that he wanted to “try and get Judge in the best position to have a little bit of protection.” With DJ LeMahieu and Andrew Benintendi injured, Boone considered Judge the team’s best remaining option in the top spot. Judge lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and Stanton went deep again, powering a 10–3 win over Tampa Bay that made the upcoming Delta flight to Boston a bit more pleasant.
“There was a lot of attention on him, but it still felt like it was all about the team somehow,” said Clay Holmes. “I think it just shows how he’s able to lead guys. There was a sense of, ‘This is us going out there.’ It was fun for everybody. I felt like we were all a part of it, and I think that speaks to how he goes about his business and treats people.”
HOMER #56: September 13 vs. Boston Red Sox’s Nick Pivetta (6th inning, solo)
Exit velocity: 109.7 mph. Distance: 383 feet. Launch angle: 24 degrees. HR in 14 of 30 MLB parks.
HOMER #57: September 13 vs. Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Whitlock (8th inning, solo)
Exit velocity: 100.5 mph. Distance: 389 feet. Launch angle: 35 degrees. HR in 29 of 30 MLB parks.
Judge’s game mantra was to keep it simple, locking in on what he needed to do to prepare for each day. Once a performance was over, good or bad, he liked to flush the results and move to the next one. This was the point of the schedule, on a temperate Tuesday evening at Boston’s Fenway Park, where Judge finally allowed himself to consider the possibility that he would break Maris’s record.
“It really didn’t start to hit me until we started creeping up into the high 50s later in the season, that this is something that we’ll be able to do,” Judge said.
As the Yankees and Red Sox battled in Boston, Judge connected for solo shots in the sixth and eighth innings, tying the game both times. No. 56 came on a hanging curveball from Nick Pivetta that landed in Boston’s bullpen. “Those pitches, they’re pretty slow,” Judge said. “You’ve got to try to see it pop above the zone and lay off the nasty one that looks like a heater.”
Then in the eighth, Judge was at it again, sending a Garrett Whitlock slider over the Green Monster in left field for No. 57. Whitlock slumped his shoulders immediately, recognizing the baseball was probably not coming back. Though Judge said that a selection of Red Sox fans had been “wearing me out on deck,” incredibly, even a few in Boston paraphernalia appeared to applaud as Judge rounded the bases, again inching ahead of Maris’s pace with his tenth multi-homer game of the season.
As Judge returned to the dugout, he high-fived one of the fans seated near the dugout, Brown University student Cecilia Jacobs. In a viral-worthy clip, Jacobs celebrated wildly after having her right palm slapped, capturing the whole sequence on her camera phone.
“Once he hit the home run, I immediately started filming,” Jacobs said. “We were all just screaming and so happy. We tried for the high-five the first time (Judge homered) and it didn’t come through, but then the second time he came through, and I just freaked out.”
In the clubhouse after the game, someone asked Judge if he was enjoying the frenzy surrounding his home run chase.
“Well, we’re winning and we’re in first place,” he replied. “That’s always fun.”
* * *
Miguel Cabrera won the majors’ last Triple Crown in 2012, when the Detroit Tigers star paced the American League in average (.330), homers (44), and RBIs (139). Before then, no one had achieved the feat since Carl Yastrzemski of the 1967 Red Sox, and no Yankee had done it since Mickey Mantle in 1956.
Judge was beginning to entertain thoughts of a batting title, closing within nine points of the Minnesota Twins’ Luis Arraez, while owning healthy leads in the home run and runs batted in categories. Yet he reminded himself frequently: “If you’re checking the numbers, you’re going to get caught. The numbers will take care of themselves. If I have a good plan, a good approach, do what I need to do in the box—all that other stuff will show up.”
That Cabrera season had been notable for Judge; it was the dawn of his junior season at Fresno State, and he’d found a seat alongside his Bulldogs teammates, having been issued a surprising classroom assignment. The required viewing on that date was a YouTube supercut, showing each and every hit Miguel Cabrera collected during his 2012 season.
The lesson that head coach Mike Batesole wanted Judge and others to absorb was to recognize the ease with which Cabrera appeared to handle the strike zone. “It was a long video, but it was well worth the watch,” Judge said. “I think he really hammered home just how simple he makes everything. He doesn’t try to overswing; he doesn’t try to do too much, especially with guys on base. You’d see him poke a single to right field and score two runs. He just did the little things in the game, and if you do that over 162, you’re going to have a pretty good year.”
On a nightly basis, the Yankees were witnessing “one of the most historic offensive seasons of all time,” as Gerrit Cole said, adding, “It’s historical. I mean, it’s wonderful. I’m riding it, dude. It’s amazing.”
Gleyber Torres’s three-run, tenth-inning double off Jeurys Familia stood as the deciding blow that night, with Wandy Peralta withstanding a shaky home half to squeak out a save. The next night, Torres legged out a Little League homer that produced three runs in the Yanks’ 5–3 win; Torres stroked a run-scoring single that drew a throw home from right fielder Alex Verdugo, then made a wide turn to draw a throw from catcher Connor Wong that sailed down the right-field line. The madcap dash was thrilling, but it hadn’t been what the sellout crowd came to see.
“I think the casual person,” Boone said, “just comes tonight and thinks, ‘I’m going to see Judge hit a homer.’ The reality is, he’s getting off the right swings. He’s making good swing decisions. It’s going to come. But it is a peek behind at just how great a player he is, that when he doesn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark, he’s still impacting us in a big way by getting on base or his outfield play. With all the noise and excitement around this, he’s still going out there and putting together good at-bat after good at-bat.”
* * *
The Judge show was heading to Milwaukee, a city that the Yankees hadn’t visited since 2014. Wisconsin’s most populous city was once an American League hub, the gold-and-blue franchise of Paul Molitor and Robin Yount, having been shifted to the National League in 1998 so the leagues could balance with fifteen clubs apiece. There would likely be no complaint from the Yankees if baseball’s honchos put the Brewers back in the AL and restored the Houston Astros to the NL, where they’d played their first fifty-one seasons, but that doesn’t seem likely anytime soon.
The club stayed at the regal Pfister Hotel, constructed in 1893 and said to be the league’s most haunted lodging. For decades, players throughout the circuit had swapped ghost stories about their stays at the Pfister; unexplained footsteps or knocking noises, relocated laundry, opening doors and flickering lights. As Giancarlo Stanton once said: “It’s freaky as shit, with the head-shot paintings on the walls and the old curtains everywhere. It reminds me of the Disneyland Haunted House. The less time I’m there, the better.”
Indeed, too many players over the years had claimed to have seen a spook, spectre, or ghost in those hallways. With an off day on a Thursday evening, it was a perfect time to get out and see the sights. Fortunately for Stanton and the rest of the Yankees, Judge had a plan.
Post Malone’s Twelve Carat Tour was in town, with the rapper taking the stage at the Fiserv Forum, less than a mile from the hotel. There was no excuse to stay inside, so Judge invited his teammates out to the home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks for a night on the town, enjoying the ninety-five-minute hit-packed set.
“It’s something that you don’t expect,” said Kyle Higashioka. “The fact that he’s going far above and beyond to bring us all together off the field, it just struck me as something a captain would do. We would have team outings on occasion, but I felt like [in 2022], there was just more. Judge took it upon himself.”
“I think it’s really good whenever you can get your team together—eating, drinking and doing all these things, it’s all good for camaraderie,” Aaron Hicks said. “Especially when the whole team commits to something and we all go, it’s fun.”
As they sang along to recognizable chart-toppers like “Circles” and “Sunflower,” Judge was pleased to have one of his closest friends on the trip. Tyler Wade had returned to the Yankees on a minor-league deal after beginning his season with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Wade traveled with the club that week as a taxi squad player in the event of injury, providing his buddy with a taste of the Judge experience.
“It felt almost like a playoff atmosphere, every time he came up,” Wade said. “We went out to dinner a couple of times and talked about approach, just catching up on stuff. Obviously, I asked him about his season. He was like, ‘Man, I just feel good. I’m healthy.’ His work ethic, if you guys saw what he was doing every day, everything he does is so detailed. Even coming up through the minors, you could tell he was bound to do something special.”
Judge stroked two hits in the opener, a 7–6 loss decided when rookie Garrett Mitchell stroked a run-scoring hit in the ninth inning off Clay Holmes. He doubled in three trips the next day, but right-hander Brandon Woodruff handcuffed the Yanks in a 4–1 defeat. That week, a few of the Yanks’ coaches had been invited to receive a tour of the Bucks’ performance facility, where they viewed a presentation. The NBA team’s number one key to winning, they said, was player availability. Judge had shown up all year, and he wasn’t about to stop now.
HOMER #58: September 18 vs. Milwaukee Brewers’ Jason Alexander (3rd inning, solo)
Exit velocity: 111.6 mph. Distance: 414 feet. Launch angle: 35 degrees. HR in 30 of 30 MLB parks.
HOMER #59: September 18 vs. Milwaukee Brewers’ Luis Perdomo (7th inning, solo)
Exit velocity: 110.3 mph. Distance: 443 feet. Launch angle: 30 degrees. HR in 30 of 30 MLB parks.
The roof was open as a crowd of more than thirty-five thousand continued to filter into Milwaukee’s American Family Field on an overcast Sunday afternoon, a slight breeze whipping the flags from right to left. Again serving as the leadoff hitter, Judge saw the ball well; something about the lighting and colors felt right, almost from the first pitch tossed by Jason Alexander, Milwaukee’s twenty-nine-year-old rookie starter.
Yes, as he heard hundreds of times from fans, he shared a name with the actor who played George Costanza on Seinfeld. There was no relation. This Alexander was a grinder who survived a lengthy injury history to beat the odds, despite having been twenty-four years old in rookie ball, one of the lowest rungs of the pro ladder. In his first at-bat, Judge smoked a line drive to center field that sent Milwaukee’s Tyrone Taylor racing back toward the wall, where a stumbling grab robbed Judge of an extra-base hit.
It seemed to be a good sign for what was to come. Judge trotted out of the dugout toward his position in center field for the bottom of the second inning, accompanied by some of the relievers, who were making their way toward the bullpen. Judge nodded in their direction and said: “Hey, boys. I’ve got you. I’m going to hit one your way.”
Facing Alexander in the third inning, Judge looked at a sinker and a changeup; both tailed inside near the batter’s feet for balls. Alexander had to come back in the strike zone, dotting a sinker low and outside. Judge clipped it to the second deck in right-center field, an absolute no-doubter.
“He hit it right over the bullpen,” said Lou Trivino. “We were just like, ‘Man, he called it!’ It was pretty awesome.”
“You have to come with your best stuff against him,” Alexander said. “I felt like I made some good pitches. It’s tough when you can paint one on the outside and he still puts it 110 [mph] into the stands. It’s a really thin margin of error.”
Anthony Rizzo followed with a homer of his own, going deep after a brief stint on the injured list. The Yanks went back to back again in the seventh inning, with Aaron Hicks homering before Judge stepped to the plate. Luis Perdomo, a twenty-nine-year-old righty, was on the mound. Perdomo worked Judge carefully, missing with a slider inside before enticing Judge to swing and miss at the same pitch low.
Judge fouled off another slider, and Perdomo pressed his luck one pitch too many. The next slider hung and Judge blasted it; as the ball rocketed off the bat, Perdomo tossed his hands high above his head in exasperation, one of the most effusive reactions Judge would generate from a pitcher all year. The drive smacked off a concrete walkway beyond the left-field wall and rattled underneath Bernie Brewer’s slide in Section 236, sending fans scurrying in pursuit.
“This is his moment right now,” Perdomo said with a sigh. “When you make a mistake against him, he’s going to take advantage of it.”
Since Yankees director of security Eddie Fastook had approached Judge with the suggestion of obtaining Judge’s home run balls after No. 52, the club had successfully made swaps for each. No. 59 would be the exception. A fan named Peter Sierra caught the ball on a bounce, and Sierra initially fielded a trade offer of autographed baseballs and caps. Another fan, Bryant Junco, offered Sierra a $1,500 Venmo payment on the spot. Sierra accepted, but when the funds moved digitally between their cell phones, Junco said Major League Baseball declined to offer authentication. Everyone wanted a piece of the Judge experience.
“Every day was like being in a clinching situation,” said Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record. “The coverage was pretty intense from the time we made that Boston-Milwaukee trip. He hit 58 and you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool.’ Then he comes up again and launches No. 59, and you’re thinking, ‘OK, this is a reality.’ ”
Judge came to bat once more in the game, the first time that specially marked baseballs were brought to home plate for his at-bat. Home plate umpire Gabe Morales fumbled with the balls, each individually coded with a secret letter-number combination that would prove its authenticity once submitted to examination under a black light. He tossed one to the pitcher, Trevor Kelley, who looked it over curiously.
“I remember someone mentioning to me, ‘The balls are here,’ ” said Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. “They showed me the balls that were marked for him, and then he hit the home run in Milwaukee. Next at-bat, the balls were changed, and I was thinking: ‘Wow, this is really going to happen. This is big.’ ”
Judge gave the Milwaukee crowd one last thrill, drilling his fourth hit of the afternoon, a run-scoring double to the wall in left-center field.
“He’d already hit two in that game, and then he barely missed another one,” said Clay Holmes. “Everybody was just like, ‘Man, this is getting way out of hand.’ I think it was that moment when everybody was like, ‘Wow, this is going to happen.’ We were all talking about how close he was, and then he just went off for that series. That was so special.”
As the Yankees packed their bags for the flight home to New York, Anthony Rizzo marveled at what his teammate and pal had already accomplished, voicing the belief that Judge’s season would—and should—be viewed as a separate entity from the McGwire/Sosa/Bonds chases of the recent past.
“This hasn’t been done in this era,” Rizzo said. “Someone chasing 61 clean like this, with really no question marks about what’s going on in the game. It’s Judge’s season. You watch his at-bats and you’d never even know he’s one homer away from 60. It’s a credit to his preparation and his demeanor, on the field, off the field, on the plane. He’s just the total package.”
11
I’VE GOT YOU, BABE
Standing on the interlocking “NY” logo on the sidewalk at the intersection of East 161st Street and the Macombs Dam Bridge, you can imagine Babe Ruth showing up for an afternoon at the ballpark, tugging on a Gatsby cap and exiting a Model T to begin his workday. That is no accident. In granite and limestone, the new Yankee Stadium’s exterior re-creates selections of its majestic 1923 predecessor, with the decorative eagle medallions alongside gold-leaf-embossed letters reading YANKEE STADIUM.
Sure, the ballpark was on the other side of the street now, but it was a building that the Babe would probably recognize. So would Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris; when Maris and his family had returned to see his uniform No. 9 retired and a Monument Park plaque belatedly dedicated in his honor on Old-Timers’ Day in 1984, the retired slugger was deeply appreciative, but the post-disco renovation stadium bore little resemblance to where he’d hit 61 in ’61.
So as banks of lights burned high above the Bronx’s largest building and the Yankees made their final sprints across the outfield grass before that evening’s game, Roger Maris Jr. felt mixed emotions. When Aaron Judge belted homers Nos. 58 and 59 two days prior in Milwaukee, the Steinbrenner family had invited the Maris family to be in the building as the Yankees opened their homestand against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox.
The Marises had attended games at the new stadium previously, having been invited for ceremonies in 2011 and again in 2016, when the club honored anniversaries of the 1961 season. Wearing pinstriped jerseys with their father’s No. 9 on the back, Maris’s four sons had watched the familiar sequence on the large center-field video screen—the drive into the right-field seats off Tracy Stallard, the clamor for the ball in the seats, then Phil Rizzuto narrating the trip around the bases before Maris was pushed out of the dugout by his teammates for a curtain call.
