It would have been a hell of a lot more fun if I had never hit those 61 homers. Going after the record" - Babe Ruth's sacred 60 - "started off as such a dream.
"I think it wasn't worth the aggravation. "Maybe I wouldn't do it all over again if I had the chance," he said on other occasions. They booed me at home, and they booed me on the road. "It was the aftermath that was so hard to explain. "The fun was gone after the '61 season," Maris said, 20 years after the fact. That figurative asterisk - a separate category created for records set in 162-game, rather than 154-game, seasons - was his scarlet punctuation mark. Maris, you see, made a horrible mistake for which - by most accounts - he paid bitterly the rest of his life. It's a safe bet most of the crowd did the same. What matters is that I remember cheering all of Mantle's homers and booing Maris as though he were the incarnation of some evil principle. Whether the record book would say such a five-homer day ever happened I neither know nor care. Memory says that during one Sunday doubleheader in Washington, Maris hit two home runs and Mickey Mantle hit three.
#ROGER MARIS 1961 HOW TO#
I knew for certain how to feel about this Mr. My finger was on the baseball pulse then as it never again will be.
And no fan is more serious or certain than a 13-year-old. When I was 13 years old in 1961, I hated Roger Maris. No baseball player in history ever has had his accomplishments so denigrated or received such criticism for the sin of having performed too well.
When he died Saturday of cancer at the age of 51, that ridiculous asterisk still was beside his name in the record book of the public mind. Right to the end, Maris never caught a break. Wasn't that the moral of Roger Maris' career? Mortal men can be crushed by immortal deeds. Please, don't let it befall Steve Balboni or Tom Brunansky that either should hit 62 home runs. For that, we'd probably be forgiven.įor Christmas, let us hope that, next baseball season, neither Brett Butler nor Kirby Puckett hits safely in 57 consecutive games. Major League Baseball started testing with penalties for PEDs in 2004, and some fans - perhaps many - until now have considered Maris as holder of the legitimate record.Heaven protect us from achieving a greatness that the world decides we do not deserve.īetter that we do evil, then repent. McGwire admitted using banned steroids, while Bonds and Sosa denied knowingly using performing-enhancing drugs. The Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa had 66, 65 and 63 during a four-season span starting in 1998. Louis Cardinals in 1998 and 65 the following year. Along with Bonds' record, Mark McGwire hit 70 for the St. Maris' 61 for the Yankees had been exceeded six times previously, but all were tainted by the stench of steroids. Tweeted former Yankees star Derek Jeter: "Congrats on 62! Postseason next!!!" "History made, more history to make," President Joe Biden posted on Twitter. Reaction quickly came from far beyond the ballpark. Oswaldo Cabrera, who had been at second base, moved to right field and the slugger got another loud ovation as he jogged back to the Yankees dugout on the third base side. He took right field in the bottom of the inning before manager Aaron Boone pulled him from the game.
#ROGER MARIS 1961 FREE#
Judge, eligible to become a free agent after this season, struck out on a full-count pitch when batting again in the second. LMAO at the guy jumping into the bullpen on Judge's 62nd HR 😭 /QtR7Z9TWag- FanDuel Sportsbook October 5, 2022
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