As Yankees’ announcer Michael Kay stated, when the game started, the Yankees’ record matched the number on the back of Aaron Judge’s jersey and the number of HR he had. 99-61.
When the game ended, it also matched up. 99 and 62.
The 3-2 loss to Texas in the second and night game of a day/night doubleheader was the only damper in a day that saw Judge break the AL and Yankees’ single-season HR record (and to many, me included, set the CLEAN MLB record) and also see Gerrit Cole set a new Yankees’ single-season strikeout record. Both players did it in the same inning, the first.
With the division and postseason seeding already wrapped up and known, it may be one of the very few times the result of the game didn’t matter as much as the individual accomplishments, although it would have been nice to top the achievements off with a win.
Judge still has an outside chance to win the Triple Crown, but it is a slim one. From MLB.com:
Here is a non-exhaustive list of examples of potential outcomes that would result in Judge winning the first Triple Crown in baseball since 2012 and the 13th in AL/NL history:
Judge goes 4-for-4 (.315331), (Luis) Arraez (of Twins) goes 1-for-4 (.314545)
Judge goes 4-for-4 (.315331), Arraez goes 0-for-4 (.312747)
Judge goes 3-for-4 (.313589), Arraez goes 0-for-4 (.312747)
Judge goes 3-for-3 (.314136), Arraez goes 0-for-4 (.312747)
As you can see, it’s certainly not impossible for Judge to end up on top, but it won’t come easy.
Now a couple of questions come into play here. One, will Judge play at all today? After what has been an exhaustive couple of weeks after having hit #60 on September 20, will manager Aaron Boone give Judge today off? Judge appears ready to play judging (pun not intended) from his postgame remarks last night, but if he gets the day off, who is to begrudge him that after all the pressure of the last two weeks?
The other consideration is that the Twins probably won’t give Arraez four at bats today, in order to protect his average. Who knows if Arraez even plays today?
Given those scenarios, I don’t expect Judge to win the Triple Crown, but what a season.
Somewhere, 61 years later in the great beyond, Phil Rizzuto probably screamed “Holy Cow, he did it!”
Judge’s HR came on the third (3, Babe Ruth’s number) pitch of the game off of Jesus Tinoco. #99 passed #9 (Roger Maris) to become the all-time AL and Yankees’ single-season HR king.
In the bottom of the first, Cole gave up a single and SB, then got a strikeout. That K, #249 of the season, broke Ron Guidry’s mark of 248 set in Guidry’s remarkable 25-3, 1.74 1978 season.
Maybe the achievement affected Cole a little, maybe not, but the next batter after that K singled, and Texas had tied the game at one each.
Catcher Jose Trevino saved Cole from more damage by throwing the runner out at second attempting a steal. Then after a triple, Trevino picked THAT runner off of third.
In the top of the fifth, Giancarlo Stanton homered (31) to put the Yanks up 2-1.
But in the bottom of the fifth, Yankees’ 3B Josh Donaldson made an error, and after a strikeout, Cole gave up a 2-run HR to Leody Taveras that put Texas up 3-2, and that turned out to be the final score.
Funny but the runner on base (via Donaldson’s error) when Taveras hit the HR was a guy by the same of Sam Huff. When Maris hit his 61st HR in 1961, the NY Giants had an All-Pro linebacker by the same of Sam Huff. What goes around comes around.
Today is the last day of the regular season. After today, the Yankees open their postseason with Game 1 of the ALDS on October 11 at Yankee Stadium vs. Tampa Bay or Cleveland.
All the seedings are set. The best of 3 wild card has all three games at the field of the higher seed.
AL : Tampa Bay (6) vs. Cleveland (3), winner plays Yankees (2) in ALDS
Seattle (5) vs. Toronto (4), winner plays Houston (1) in ALDS
NL: Philadelphia (6) vs. St. Louis (3), winner plays Atlanta (2) in NLDS
San Diego (5) vs. NY Mets (4), winner plays LA Dodgers (1) in NLDS
Judge solo HR (62) NEW AL AND YANKEES SINGLE SEASON RECORD
Stanton solo HR (31)
LeMahieu 2 hits
Cole (L, 13-8) 6 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 W, 9 K. 3.50 257 K IS NEW YANKEES SINGLE SEASON RECORD
Schmidt 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.12
The Sommer Frieze 
