by Ray Negron
10/5/22
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Editor's Note - This article ran on the nyctastemakers.com site and was shared with our Editor-in-Chef from Ray Negron. It is being shared with permission. Here is a link to the original article.
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Congratulations to Aaron Judge. Not for the 62nd home run but because you have exemplified so much incredible class throughout this whole ride. You have shown the kids of the world what a true gentleman is supposed to be. You have shown the baseball world what a Yankee is supposed to be.
When you can have Presidents and our people in Congress and major movie stars like Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal reach out to you with true joy because you help them feel like they are reliving their youth, that’s just beautiful.
To see the Roger Maris family actually root for you even though you were going to overtake their father in the record books that tells me what they think of you.
To hear you talk about what the support of the Maris family meant to you was beautiful.
Especially when it was the very first thing out of your mouth when Meredith was interviewing you.
The great Bronx-born actor Chazz Palminteri is probably the Hollywood star that truly knows the game of baseball. He said that he is finally at peace because he now knows who has the Major League record for homers in a season.
Now I must say that being someone that has been around the Yanks for almost 50 years and met Maris on many occasions, Roger would be happy and proud that someone with the incredible soul of Aaron Judge is the one who would break the record.
When Roger Maris hit number 61 and met the guy ( Sal Durante ) that got the ball, he told him to keep the ball and get some money for your family. That’s who Roger Maris was. In his own way, that’s who Aaron Judge is too.
