The 2022 season has been a true storybook season for Aaron Judge, beginning with contentious contract talks leading into an MVP-caliber, record campaign. There was plenty of pressure on the Yankees outfielder; he bet on himself financially and then became the pillar of an up-and-down offensive lineup that sputtered at times down the stretch after a red-hot start to the season.
However, his pursuit of Roger Maris’s American League single-season home run record—a mark that is incredibly special to the Yankees franchise—did not contribute to that pressure. After Judge hit the long-awaited 62nd home run on Tuesday night in Texas, he said that, while the milestone is “something pretty special,” it was still just another day at the ballpark.
“For me, it’s just another day,” Judge told Sports Illustrated last week, as the chase for home run No. 62 continued. “I was getting booed in April [in the Bronx] after turning down the deal. I had fans yelling at me, screaming at me, saying, ‘You should’ve taken the deal! What are you doing? Screw you!’ So this is just another day.”
