Welcome to the Aaron Judge Home Run Record Tracker! We take a daily look at where Aaron Judge’s monster season is going against some of the other historical single-season home run leaders in anticipation of Judge potentially joining their ranks. We’ll be using Team Game because not all players’ seasons were in sync with calendar days and not everyone played all team games, making this our universal standard. Moving on to game 127:
Aaron Judge until Game 127 of 2022: 49 HR
Team play 127: 8/27 — 0-for-3, 1BB, 1K
Judge hit his 49th bombshell the night before, but he was unable to make it happen on two consecutive nights. In fact, the Yankees offense as a whole struggled to get things going, getting only one combined hit in 11 innings. It was made worse considering they faced one of the worst starters in the league this year but let him shut them out for eight innings. There were plenty of pitches that could have been thrown, either by Judge or one of his teammates.
Roger Maris until Game 127 of 1961: 50 HR
Team play 127: 8/24 – 0 for 4, 1 RBI
Maris didn’t do much that night, failing to register a hit in a 6-4 loss to the Angels. He lifted one deep, getting a fly ball from Ted Bowsfield in the third inning, but was caught for a sacrifice fly ball. Bowsfield and Tom Morgan managed to keep the eventual home run king down for the rest of the night.
Babe Ruth until Game 127 of 1927: 43 HR
Team play 127: 8/31 — 1 for 4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K
The Babe had a quiet day for most of this game, carrying on and letting his team do the damage. He worked a walk in the third inning and scored on a home run from Tony Lazzeri (after stealing second after a Mark Koenig home robbery), then mistakenly continued in the fourth and scored again through a triple by Lou Gehrig. Ruth had one last shot in the eighth inning and he made it count, hitting a solo shot from Tony Welzer.
Barry Bonds until 2001 Game 127: 55 HR
Team play 127: 8/23 — 1 for 1, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
Bonds did not start this game and in fact did not play in 90% of it. He entered the game as a pinch hitter for the pitcher in the top of the tied ninth at five, and he did Bondsian things — he hit a solo pinch shot deep into right field to give the Giants a lead they would not relinquish. (and actually extended to five points in this inning).
Mark McGwire until 1998 Game 127: 51 HR
Team play 127: 8/21 (1) – 1 for 1, 1 RBI, 1 R
The Cardinals certainly had a glove at this point in their schedule, playing four games in two days. McGuire did not start this game, but like Bonds also came in late for a successful appearance. McGuire also had a big hit, but it wasn’t a home run – he doubled a run at home and then scored instead.
Sammy Sosa until 1998 Game 127: 48 HR
Team play 127: 8/20 — 0 for 5, 3,000
Facing the Bonds Giants, Sosa struggled while the rest of the Cubs roster put in a solid showing against Russ Ortiz. Sosa hit three times, a small valley between peaks where he would circuit. Bonds hit one in this game, but considering it was ’98 instead of the 2001 season we’re tracking for him, that’s just a fun footnote.
