How Aaron Judge of the Yankees is tackling the biggest obstacle to breaking Roger Maris' record

In terms of the game on Tuesday night, Gleyber Torres' later hit at Fenway Park was the most significant. The Yankees held on for a 7-6 victory, which helped push the Red Sox a little farther into their deep winter's sleep. It cleared the bases and gave the Yankees a 7-4 lead in the bottom of the 10th inning.

A nice footnote, that. a final thought.

That reveals more than anything else the lofty position Aaron Judge currently holds. To even suggest that one player is more important than The Game is considered to be anathema and a terrible sin. But Judge is currently that. Judge has been that throughout this wonderful season. He is more significant than any game he plays.

The 56th and 57th home runs Judge hit brought him one step closer to Roger Maris. Only Hank Greenberg, Jimmie Foxx, Babe Ruth (twice), and Roger Maris have hit more home runs in a single season than Judge in the American League's brief existence, which began in 1901. Judge still has 20 games remaining to inflate and rocket that figure.

That's not all, though. Judge's home runs were crucial to the Yankees, as they have been for the majority of the season. The first one knotted the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning with a cannon shot that was fired the other way into the heartbreakingly deep Fenway power alley in right. In the eighth, the second one, which landed over the Green Monster in left, knotted the game at 4-4.

The 10th inning included Judge's final at-bat. Before Judge had left the on-deck circle, Red Sox manager Alex Cora raised four fingers with the score knotted and two outs and a player on third. You wonder whether managers choosing discretion over bravery won't happen more frequently in these final few weeks of the season.

Though you hope not.

Because every Judge at-bat from this point forward will be a spectacle. They will be must-watch television. It is impossible to not want to see every pitch whether you are a fan of the Yankees or just baseball in general. Because something grand and amazing can be approaching with each swing of the bat.

Almost unexpectedly, he doesn't delve deeply.

Judge's manager, Aaron Boone, said before the game that he didn't think it mattered how many home runs Judge hit. "He's aware of our whereabouts. Going out and winning the game is what it's all about. I believe that playing the game is much simpler when you have that genuinely simple thinking and approach to it.

When you consider it, that is the most amazing aspect of Judge's season. As a matter of law, we are all aware that hitting a baseball that well, that far, and that frequently is arguably the most difficult feat in sports. However, it really does appear... when Judge swings, when he hits, and when he sends his majestic blasts to the far reaches of ball yards throughout the game.

Well. Easy.

outrageously simple. incredibly simple.

It's always pleasant when we're winning and in first place; this year has been great, remarked Judge. "The figures will look after themselves."

Judge should be awarded MVP without further discussion; the only remaining issue is whether he receives all 30 first-place votes and a total of 420 voting points. Shohei Ohtani, the sole competitor haltingly mentioned, achieved that the previous year, and despite how extraordinary that season was, his team still finished 77-85.

The Yankees are 86-56 right now. With the days slipping away from the calendar, they are back to being 30 games over.500 and have reclaimed their command of the AL East. There is little surprise as to why they surged early and have recently survived: Judge serves as the lineup's mainstay. Nobody else does, either.

I had run out of adjectives. stated Boone.

In the 159th game of the season, Roger Maris took the day off, causing a seismic shock late in his fantasy 1961 run. He had 60 home runs in his possession. How was it that he lost four at-bats? Judge can anticipate a day off or around that time if things continue the way they are, and no one will really object.

Unless Barry Bonds' 73th birthday hasn't been reached by then. Most likely, it won't be. But would you place a wager against it?