Aaron Judge blasts 62nd homer to beat Maris record

LOS ANGELES: New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge smashed his 62nd home run of the season on Tuesday (Oct 4) to finally surpass the legendary Roger Maris' long-standing American League record.

Judge, who equalled Maris' record in Toronto last week, blasted a 391-foot bomb into the stands at the Texas Rangers' Choctaw Stadium in the top of the first inning in Arlington.

The 30-year-old slugger had been stuck on 61 homers since pulling level with Maris, failing to better the record during a weekend homestand at Yankee Stadium.

Two more fruitless appearances followed during Monday's road opener against the Rangers, as well as the opening game of Tuesday's double-header.

But Judge made no mistake as he led off the hitting in Tuesday's evening game, crushing the third pitch faced from Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco.

A packed house rose to give Judge a standing ovation as he rounded the bases to be greeted by delighted team-mates at home plate.

"It's a big relief," Judge said after setting the record with just one more regular season game remaining on Wednesday.

"Everybody can finally sit down in their seats now and watch the ball game. It's been a fun ride so far.

"And getting the chance to do this with my team-mates, the constant support from my family. It's been a great honour."

Meanwhile, Judge's 62nd home run ball was scooped up by a fan in the stands who now stands to earn a multimillion-dollar payday. The ball has been conservatively valued at around US$2 million.

Judge said that he would like to eventually receive the ball, but did not begrudge the spectator who grabbed the instantly valuable piece of memorabilia.

"I don't know where the ball's at, so we'll see what happens with that," Judge said.

"It would have been great to get it