Pirates' pitcher who gave up 60th HR to Aaron Judge wants 'cleared out' of record books

On Tuesday night, New York Yankees All-Star slugger Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run of the season off of Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Wil Crowe to equal a mark famously reached by legend Babe Ruth during the 1927 campaign. It was later learned that Crowe's great-great uncle was Hall of Fame pitcher Red Ruffing, one of Ruth's teammates with the Yankees during the 1930s.

Crowe and many others then watched throughout Wednesday's encounter between the clubs as Judge failed to tie the American League single-season record of 61 homers set by Yankees icon Roger Maris in 1961. The Bronx Bombers won't face Pittsburgh again this fall, and that means Crowe can now become one of Judge's biggest fans. 

"I hope someone [a non-Pirate] in the next three days … gives up the next one. Then I can stop seeing myself on the TV and stuff," Crowe admitted while speaking with Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. "The next one’s more important than the last one. So … I might be in the history books, [but] as soon as he hits the next one, I think I’m going to be cleared out."

Crowe also confessed that Judge's pursuit of history is "cool to watch from afar" when one isn't an opposing pitcher. 

"I don’t want to be a part of it again, that’s for sure. So I hope he breaks all the records this year, but let it not be against us tonight," Crowe added during comments made before Wednesday's game that the Yankees won 14-2. 

Crowe won't have to worry about Judge again until next year at the earliest, and logic suggests the 30-year-old will eventually add the name of a different pitcher to the record books before the regular season ends on Oct. 5.