Yankees captain Aaron Judge on breaking AL home run record again in 2023: 'We'll see'

If New York Yankees fans thought Aaron Judge's record-breaking 62-home run season was behind him, the reigning American League MVP gave reason to believe another prolific season could be on the horizon.

Judge, newly minted as the Yankees' captain for the 2023 season, was asked Monday about approaching the American League home run record he broke in 2022.

"We'll see," Judge told reporters at the Yankees' spring training facility in Tampa. "I don't really like putting a number on it. I like going out there and trying to control what I can control.

"But you never know what could happen, so we'll see about 62."

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Judge was under a microscope for most of the 2022 season as he chased down legendary Yankees slugger Roger Maris' 61-year-old home run record. With the record now under his belt, does Judge have just as lofty goals this season?

"I've got some goals written down," Judge said, "but my individual stats always take care of themselves if I'm focused on the team out there. The game tells you what you need to do. If I'm going up there thinking about trying to hit a homer or thinking about what my batting average is going to be, I'm probably going to walk away from that at-bat after three pitches."

Judge said he plans to take a similar day-by-day approach in 2023 but added he "always wants to improve" each season.

"After everything that transpired last season," Judge said, "I'm going to still try to do what I did last year, which is take it one at-bat at a time and focus on helping this team win."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Could Yankees OF Aaron Judge break AL home run record again in 2023?