NEW BOOK: 62 by Bryan Hoch

by SSTN Admin

July 11, 2023

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Babe Ruth. Roger Maris. Aaron Judge.

Three historic figures across generations of Major League Baseball, all swinging for the fences and calling Yankee Stadium home. After Judge’s epic home-run-record chase last season, their names will forever be linked in the most storied franchise in professional sports. Judge, the hulking superman who carried an easy aw-shucks demeanor from small-town California to stardom in the Big Apple, had long established his place as one of the game’s most intimidating power hitters, rocketing baseballs into the furthest reaches of Yankee Stadium. But even with his natural skill and the sport’s technological advancements, Judge’s chances of surpassing Maris’s American League mark of 61 home runs seemed largely out of reach. Against pitchers sporting hellacious arsenals unlike anything Ruth or Maris could have imagined, only an exceptional talent could even consider making a run at 61 homers. Judge, who placed the bet of his life by turning down a $213.5 million contract extension on the eve of the regular season, promised to rise to the challenge.

62: Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees, and the Pursuit of Greatness (On sale 7/11/23; Atria Books/Simon & Schuster; Hardcover; ISBN 9781668027950; $29.99) is an insider’s look at one of baseball’s wildest and most memorable seasons, with veteran Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch unraveling the remarkable journey of Judge’s run to shatter Maris’s iconic sixty-one-year-old record and establish his place in baseball history. In-depth, inspiring, and with an expert’s insight, 62 also investigates the more significant questions raised in a season unlike any other, including how—and where—Judge would deliver his encore.

Bryan Hoch has covered New York baseball for the past two decades, working the New York Yankees clubhouse as an MLB.com beat reporter since 2007. Bryan is the author and coauthor of several books, including 62, The Baby Bombers, Mission 27, and The Bronx Zoom. Find out more at Bryan-Hoch.com and follow him on Twitter @BryanHoch.

PRAISE:

“Aaron Judge's indelible 62-homer 2022 season was one for the ages and there was no one more able to chronicle it than esteemed Yankee beat man Bryan Hoch, who was right there in the press boxes and clubhouses for all of it.” —Bill Madden, author of Steinbrenner, the Last Lion of Baseball and 2010 recipient of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor Spink Award

“I had the honor of calling most of Judge’s 62 homers from the broadcast booth, but Bryan Hoch delivers the inside stories of this historic chase of history from the clubhouse. Hoch seamlessly interconnects the eras, weaving a thread through 1927 to 1961 to 2022 to form a fascinating narrative while creating a textbook of this magical 62 home run season for future generations.” —Michael Kay, YES Network broadcaster

“To set a new record in any category after 122 American League seasons is an enormous feat - especially the most coveted record in all of sports. The observant and insightful Bryan Hoch is the perfect journalist to chronicle Aaron Judge's quest from every angle.” —Marty Appel, New York Yankees historian, author of Pinstripe Empire and Pinstripes by the Tale

“Aaron Judge had the greatest offensive season that I’ve ever witnessed. This book tells you the complete story.” —Yankees ace Gerrit Cole