Hey North Dakotans - Are You Rooting For Aaron Judge?

I'm just curious about this one question, and it's pretty much inevitable it's going to happen

162 games, that's what a full Major League Baseball season consists of. That's not including exhibition games and post-season play ( if your favorite team gets in that is ). There are many who feel that is too much, some even say that baseball is a dying sport, and to that, I say "No Way" - All the drama so far this year has been on New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. With just 14 games left, Judge has hit 60 dingers, he is one shy of tying Roger Maris for the American League home run record of 61 in a season - ironically that was set 61 years ago - 1961.

So the question for North Dakotans is - do you want to see Judge break the record?

Why am I calling out North Dakotans? Roger Maris was born in 1934, in Hibbing, Minnesota - four years later he and his family moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota. When he was 12 years old, they moved to Fargo, North Dakota. Roger became a star athlete in football and baseball as he attended Bishop Shanley High School. He chose to stick with baseball and ended up playing his rookie season for the Cleveland Indians in 1957 - imagine being 23 years old and playing in the big leagues. Next thing you know he is a member of THE New York Yankees - one of baseball's most dynamic teams. There he played alongside Mickey Mantle. In 1961 Roger was about to have an incredible year.

Chasing a true legend and facing hatred at the same time

Maris found himself in a home run race with teammate Mickey Mantle, for a while, BOTH of them were on pace to break one of baseball's all-time greats - Babe Ruth had the record of 60 round-trippers in 1927. There are some purists that still say Ruth's stats are more impressive - he did it in a shortened 154-game season, and in the "Dead ball" era - By the way, Ruth played for the New York Yankees, so when Roger Maris got close to breaking his record, he received so many letters of hate, people hoping that he would fail. The great bambino was loved by almost everybody, Maris was no comparison - many said that he lacked personality, flair, and charisma - maybe so, but he packed a mighty bat, and on the last game of the season, October 1st, 1961 - he landed a ball in the right field bleachers and made history.