"61" in 1961
I was in the Air Force during the 1961 season stationed at a B52 bomber base in Bangor, Maine. That September, I followed the day-by-day HR contest
between Mantle & Maris. First, it looked as if Mantle was on track to break Ruth's record. When Mickey became sick, the pressure shifted to Roger Maris
to break the record. When Roger hit his 61st HR, I was really excited. It was a tremendous time to be a Yankees fan.
But in this poll, I voted for Babe Ruth. Simply because of the difference in the # of games played. Ruth was unbelievable in September of 1927. He hit an
unprecendented 17 HR's to achieve his 60. Given 8 more games with the momentum he had, Ruth might have hit 70 HR's that year.
Having said all that....let's not forget that Roger's 61 HR's are still the best in the American League. All those "steroid dudes" with more than 61 HRs were
in the NL.
TED Z
Last edited by tedzan; 10-05-2011 at 06:40 AM.
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