(Bloomberg) -- New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge made baseball history with his 62nd home run of the season, surpassing the American League record that Roger Maris set in 1961.

The historic blast occurred in Arlington, Texas, where the Yankees took on the Rangers in their final series of the regular season, which ends Oct. 5.

Judge’s quest for the record and the Yankees’ division-winning play have boosted TV ratings this year for the team’s YES Network. The regional sports channel is owned by a consortium that includes the Yankees, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Judge, 30, is also in contention for the elusive Triple Crown -- which means leading the league in homers, batting average and runs batted in.

Judge is set to be a free agent at the conclusion of this season. Prior to the start of this year’s campaign, he reportedly turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension.

Yankees President Randy Levine told Bloomberg’s “Business of Sports” podcast that the team is “not going to leave any stone unturned in trying to bring him back.”

The MLB record for home runs in a single season is 73, set in 2001 by Barry Bonds. That record is considered controversial due to allegations that Bonds juiced his performance with steroids.

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