Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is currently 4 swings away from tying the 61-year-old record for most balls hit out of the park in one season. Roger Maris, American League’s most valuable player (MVP) in 1960 and 1961, currently holds the American League record with 61.

Rumors about tensions between Maris and Yankees great Mickey Mantle proved to be false during the 1961 season. Nicknamed the “M&M Boys”, they were considered one of the greatest duos in baseball history and were very good friends. 

The Yankees won 109 games that season with 220 home runs. Mantle’s season was cut short due to pulling his forearm muscle and an abscessed hip from a flu shot, and he finished with 54 home runs. Maris was alone in the home run race, hitting 9 more and breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs in one season on October 1, 1961. The Yankees went on to win the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds 4-1. Roger Maris was awarded AL MVP, And Yankees great Whitey Ford was awarded the World Seris MVP.

Maris’s record for most home runs in the MLB in one season stood until 1998 when Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs. Maris still holds the record for most home runs in the American League. Maris retired in 1958, and on July 22,  1984, the New York Yankees retired Maris’s number 9. Maris passed away on December 14, 1985 from cancer at 51 years old.

Will Aaron Judge break Maris’ record? With 20 games left in the season and only needing 5 more home runs to do so, Yankees fans are hoping he will, and if he does, they are in for a treat.