Judge Watch: Broadcasters hope to hit home run with call of historic moment

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge isn't the only one who wants to hit a home run during New York's three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The broadcasters want to knock it out of the park, too.

With Judge on the verge of tying one of baseball's grand old records, the radio and television play-by-play crews hope to nail the call if history is made.

Judge has been stuck at 60 home runs for a week, one short of the American League mark set by Yankees great Roger Maris in 1961. He lined out, walked four times and scored twice in New York's 5-2 victory over Toronto on Tuesday night.

There has been a distinct buzz throughout Rogers Centre whenever the six-foot-seven slugger has stepped to the plate in the series, which wraps up Wednesday night.

That energy is also felt in the broadcast booth.

Sportsnet television commentator Dan Shulman said he uses a "say-what-you-see" approach without scripting his calls. For a potential Judge homer, he'd try to work in three things to serve as building blocks.

"One is the number, one is [that] it ties the American League record, and one is Roger Maris," Shulman said Tuesday afternoon. "Those are the three bits of information. What order they come out in and how I say them, I don't know. But I want to make sure I get all that in."

Judge also has a good shot at winning the American League Triple Crown. He entered play Tuesday with a slight edge in the batting average race and healthy leads in the home run and RBI categories.

Longtime Blue Jays radio voice Jerry Howarth, who retired after the 2017 season, said spontaneity is key for broadcasters in big sporting moments.

He noted the famous "Touch 'em all, Joe!" call by the late Tom Cheek in 1993, when Joe Carter hit a walkoff homer that