New York Yankees' Aaron Judge crushes 60th home run

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In the middle of the trot for the most noteworthy and historic home run in more than a decade, Judge chose not to celebrate or luxuriate in the moment. After hitting his 60th home run of the season, the Yankees' star lamented that he hadn't hit it earlier in the game, when the bases were loaded, as opposed to when he did.

Judge said that he was kicking himself while he was running. You should have done this sooner.

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Judge wentaded his teammates and manager to give those who had stuck around at Yankee Stadium more of his magic. It was more of a waste of time than it was worth. As he has chased ghosts and the numbers with which they're associated, he has been numbingly steadfast in his insistence that the team supersedes the individual. This all felt weird, disappointing, and wrong, but with his team still down three runs and just three outs away from another loss, just like when he hit 50, it felt right to him.

There was only one thing that happened. Anthony Rizzo reached base, and then Gleyber Torres and Josh Donaldson followed, and then Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run over the left-field wall. This time, it seemed Judge was the first one out of the dugout, there to greet his teammates at home plate, to celebrate a win that took a night important to the rest of the world and made a difference for him.

Do you want to move over to Maris? Judge is on the verge of becoming the all-time leader in home runs. You can watch the Yankees player on TV.

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Everyone around Judge swears it is true that he doesn't allow himself to enjoy this moment unless his teammates have something to celebrate. The person whose one-time record he tied Tuesday is a machine like in his conviction.

Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run in 1927 to break his own record. It's 60! Let's see if that son can beat that one! Babe was a little arrogant and a lot appreciative in the moment of his place in history, perhaps because he'd become so accustomed to writing it. Baseball's early record books included a lot of Ruth's name. He understood the enormity of the shadow he was casting when he was the game in the 1920's.

All of our coverage from the historic season can be found here.

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The fact that Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds were aided by performance- enhancing drugs doesn't diminish their accomplishments as much as it might suggest. Before integration, Ruth's record came first. The game was internationalized before Maris'. The baggage is carried by every mark.

Judge excuses himself from talking about numbers because of this. He didn't say "60" in the news conference. He said the same thing at least 10 times. A debate about the real record or the rightful record would be good for him. He likes an almost obsessive dedication to the party line.

A chance to play baseball at Yankee Stadium, packed house, first-place team, that's what you dream about. I love everything about it. We got a chance to come back here and do something special, even when we were down, I knew the top of the lineup would come up. I'm trying to enjoy it all but I know I have a job to do on the field.

This life does not bother Judge. Maris disliked it more than Ruth did. Maris had coffee and cigarettes while he was chasing Ruth in 1961. Maris said it would have been a lot more fun if he hadn't hit 61 homers. All I got was headaches.

Judge's head is straight and firm. He has almost accidentally ensured there will be no clean slate when he hits 61 to tie Maris for the American League record. In addition to owning unbeatable leads in home runs and runs scored, Judge's blast in the ninth pushed his batting average to the best in the American League. As the Yankees head into the final 15 games of the season with a 512 game lead over Toronto in the American League East, they'll do so with Judge chasing the second Triple Crown of his career.

There are seven teams that could challenge the Yankees.

There is a man namedBuster Olney.

The man has been playing in the Bronx for a long time. On opening day, a man turned down a contract extension. The impending free agency that comes with an altogether different type of number this winter is something that Judge knows well. He was able to name-check his forebears on Tuesday. The judge didn't go much further into that line of thinking.

ego is what the past is about Team is what the present is about. The New York Yankees won their best game of the season Tuesday. Judge was able to clear his mind of the one that could've been, without beingburdened.

He celebrated and luxuriated in a different home run, hit by a different man, when he hit 60. It is possible for the world to have a historic solo shot. The Yankees won the game with a grand slam.