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The role prayer and faith played in Aaron Judge becoming the A.L. home run king

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New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge gestures as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run, his 62nd of the season, setting an American League record for home runs in a season, passing Roger Maris.

New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge gestures as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run, his 62nd of the season, during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. With the home run, Judge set the AL record for home runs in a season, passing Roger Maris.

LM Otero, Associated Press

After New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge broke the American League single-season home run record with his 62nd dinger of 2022 on Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers, he fielded questions from reporters and talked about how faith and prayer helped him during the chase.

Asked if he had started looking at the schedule and realizing the Yankees only had two games left after Tuesday, Judge said he hadn’t, although he did acknowledge he could feel during games that the window to get it done was closing.

Then he talked about faith and prayer.

“I just try to take it one day at a time and say a prayer, go out there and just try to play my game,” he said. “For me, I never tried to focus on the number, never tried to focus on going out there and doing it.

“Just go out there and play my game, and if I’m good enough and God willing, it’ll happen. I think just having that type of faith I think kind of helped me out through this whole process.”

Judge broke the record in the top of the first inning Tuesday night off Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco, besting the AL record that has stood since 1961 when the Yankees’ Roger Maris hit 61 homers.