Only 23,154 saw Roger Maris hit his 61st home run. It was a Sunday day game at Yankee Stadium. The home run was the only run in the game. In today’s game at Yankee Stadium where Aaron Judge could (but apparently won’t) hit his 61st home run, there are more people than the seating capacity.
The 61st home run was given up by Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard. I thought it was perfect that he became a Met in 1963. A player known for being on the losing end of a great achievement belonged on the Mets who were infamous for losing 120 games the year before.
I saw the Yankees play in 1961. In the game I saw, Mickey Mantle hit a home run. He hit 54 that season.
I think Judge will break Maris’s record. In a way, it would be more impressive since two of the 10 American League teams in 1961 were bad expansion teams. Judge didn’t have the chance to face expansion teams.
Sad! 