Fans pack the outfield seats at Rogers Center to watch Aaron Judge’s historic home run

TORONTO — Justin Morgan and his father arrived at Rogers Center early Monday morning to secure a seat in the 200-story general admission area of ​​the outfield in hopes of snagging a piece of baseball history.

Morgan was wearing a white Blue Jays jersey and was holding a leather glove. All Morgan needed was Yankees slugger Aaron Judge to cooperate and hit his 61st home run of the season.

“We watched all weekend hoping he might hit another one so we could have the record breaker here,” Morgan said. “But it’s just as good to have someone who could tie Roger Maris.”

Good thing Morgan had planned to return Tuesday night. Judge was held to a single in three at bats as the Yankees dropped a 3-2 decision to Toronto in the three-game series opener.

Judge has been on the verge of breaking the American League’s single-season home run record for a week. He wants to match Maris, who hit 61 homers in 1961.

“Any time the Jays are in the running through September, there’s a great atmosphere,” said Pete Devcich, a longtime Toronto Yankees fan. “When you add the Aaron Judge 61-62 chase, it just adds that extra bit of flair. It’s a pleasure to be here.”

The judge whipped a single into right field to open play and came around to score with a sacrificial fly. He walked in the third inning and hit in the sixth and again in the eighth.

With two runners in the 10th inning, Tim Mayza purposely led Judge to a chorus of boos from fans eager for Judge to make a few more cuts on the plate.

A hot topic of discussion among fans doing batting practice was what they would do if they caught the historic home run ball. Trading it with the team/player for memorabilia is a common practice, but for some collectors willing to pay big bucks, it can be tempting to sell it.

Joseph Molchanov of Mississauga, Ontario said that if he caught it, a signed baseball and a meet-and-greet with the baseball star would suffice.

“I can’t keep that,” he said from the sixth row of the 200 level. “He deserved it. He worked hard for it.”

It took Morgan, of Burlington, Ontario, some time before making a decision.

“We would wait 24 hours and let the dust settle,” he said. “Take the best offer that came and then my dad and I would split it 50-50.”

When the judge was on the plate Monday night, specially marked balls were used. The balls were identifiable and could be easily authenticated.

If the ball is caught by a spectator, Yankees security officials would contact stadium security to discuss the possibility and interest in the fan returning it, a team spokesman said.

Judge is also in contention for the Triple Crown, a rare feat that sees a player lead the league in home runs, RBIs and batting averages.

“The baseball fan in me respects Aaron Judge and the year he was put together and also for what he’s like as a person,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said before the game. “It would be nice to keep him on hold for a few days. I hope we win by 12 if he hits a home run.”

Some sports networks have included cut-ins in their programming in recent days when Judge has gone batting. In addition to coverage on Sportsnet and the YES Network, the game was available on the MLB Network and for free on MLB.TV.

The announced attendance for the series opener was 34,307, far from a sell-out. However, the press box and photographers’ bays were packed with many American media members making their way north for the series.

“I think he’s a great face of football, a representative of football, he does so many things that you wish your best players would do,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “Well I think it’s great. I think it’s more exposure to our sport, more eyeballs to our sport and it documents something that almost never happens.

“I think it’s important for me, saying this now, to try to appreciate that. Really appreciate what a magical season he’s had so far.”

Barry Bonds set the all-time record in 2001 with 73 home runs in a single season.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 26, 2022.