The New York Yankees earned a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers in Tuesday’s matinee.
It was the first game of a doubleheader.
With the Yanks having already locked up their playoff ticket, the AL East division and one of the two first-round byes in the postseason, they were only playing for Aaron Judge.
The All-Star outfielder entered Tuesday afternoon needing just one more home run to take sole possession of the American League’s record for most home runs in a single season.
As of Tuesday, he shared it with Roger Maris: both have 61.
Every single at-bat counts: having played more than 50 games consecutively, Judge isn’t about to rest right now; not until he breaks the record.
That’s why when the Yankees secured another at-bat for him in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s matinee, Yankees fans in Texas cheered loudly.
“Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka gets huge standing ovation for drawing 2-out walk in the 9th, bringing up Aaron Judge,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted.
Higashioka: ‘I think that was the best ovation I’ve ever gotten.’’ https://t.co/JMqKCu88cc
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 4, 2022
The Record Is Finally Here
Judge ended up grounding into a forced out, so the at-bat wasn’t particularly fruitful.
Still, at least Higashioka earned a huge standing ovation.
Probably the loudest he has ever received.
“Higashioka: ‘I think that was the best ovation I’ve ever gotten,'” Nightengale tweeted, after talking to the catcher.
The chase finally ended early Tuesday night when Judge hit the record with an absolute blast.
Remember where you were when #AaronJudge made history. 6️⃣2️⃣ #AllRise pic.twitter.com/w4kbDJf5ZC
— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2022
This is a relief for him and everyone around baseball, and for the Yankees in particular so they can focus on postseason play.
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