The post Aaron Judge ties Mickey Mantle on all-time list with 51st HR appeared first on ClutchPoints.
In every which way, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge makes history. In fact, he made history twice on the same night. On Wednesday, Judge joined Babe Ruth as one of only four players in MLB history to have four 50-home run seasons.
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After that, Judge went on to equal Mickey Mantle with his 51st dinger for the most multi-homer games in Yankees history, Sarah Langs of MLB.com. The moment came in the bottom of the 8th inning with the Yankees leading the Chicago White Sox 7-1. He hit a solo shot to enter the field right to give New York an extra run on the board, and that became the final score.
As a result, Judge shares Mantle’s total of 46 multi-homer games. Lou Gehrig trails behind with 43, and fittingly, Ruth leads the pack with 68.
On Tuesday, the Yankees clinched a playoff spot after defeating the White Sox 3-2. For Judge, he said that the ultimate goal is to win the American League East as they come closer to the Toronto Blue Jays. After the win on Wednesday, the Yankees are now tied with the Blue Jays at 90-68. Furthermore, New York has won seven out of its last ten games, whereas the Blue Jays have lost six out of their last ten.
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On Wednesday, the Blue Jays lost to the Boston Red Sox 7-1 with five games left. Also, Judge is batting .325 with 170 hits, 51 home runs, and 109 RBIS.
Aaron Judge is the defining Yankees slugger of his era.
Throughout the storied history of the New York Yankees, the concept of a power hitter was perfected. Obviously, it was Ruth who practically invented the home run, with the culminating season being 1927 when he hit 60. Afterward, Gehrig, who was a more all-around player, was able to generate as much power and finished with 493 career homers.
Then, Joe DiMaggio followed suit in the late 1930s, continuing through the early 1950s, while also being one of the best all-around players of his time. Then came Mantle himself, who was a sight to behold with his iconic tape measure shots.
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In 1961, Roger Maris captivated the nation when he broke Ruth’s single-season record with 61.
Afterward, players such as Reggie Jackson and Alex Rodriguez engineered the power. But in this current moment, Judge is the one with the power.
Related: Aaron Judge explains why rare milestone can’t get in his way
Related: Why Jeff Passan ‘would feel terrible’ about Yankees’ Aaron Judge MVP vote
