MLB history: A look back at the 60 home run club
By David Hill
Prior to 2022, only five players in MLB history had ever hit 60 or more homers in a season. Then along came Aaron Judge.
With his leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth against Will Crowe, Judge became the first player since 2001 to reach the 60 home run plateau. His milestone homer came after the Steroid Era had tarnished the game and the home run record books, with three of the five players in that club joining in a four year span.
A look back at the 60 home run hitters in MLB history
Unlike that trio, there are no questions about Judge’s performance. He has proven to be a dangerous slugger throughout his career; it was just a matter of his staying healthy. Now, in a contract season for the ages, he is showing what he has been capable of all along.
Aaron Judge has made MLB history with his 60th homer on the season. Let’s take a look back at the other members of that exclusive club.
Babe Ruth – 1927
How impressive was Babe Ruth’s 60 home run season? Only three other teams in the majors combined to hit more homers than he did on his own, and none of those teams were in the American League.
Prior to Ruth, the home run was a rarity due to the relatively dead balls and fences being further back. He turned the homer into a weapon, shattering records along the way. His 59 home runs in 1921 had seemed to be a record that would withstand the test of time as the next closest player in the majors finished the season with just 24 homers.
Then came 1927. While Ruth had some company on his home run hitting exploits as Lou Gehrig belted 47 homers that year, The Bambino proved to be in a class by himself. Third place in the AL belonged to Tony Lazzeri, who had just 18 homers that season.
While Ruth never approached that mark again, he was far from finished. He led the league in homers in each of the next three seasons and had four more years with over 40 homers. Even in his final year in the majors, when he was but a shadow of himself, he still had some pop as evidenced when his final three home runs all came in the same game.
Babe Ruth is still revered for his home run hitting exploits to this day. It is fitting that he was the first player in MLB history to hit 60 homers in a season.