Sept. 21, 1961 - Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick today clarified his position on Babe Ruth's home run record and his policy if Roger Maris surpasses the Babe's mark of 60 before the season ends. If Maris equals or tops that figure in the Yankees' remaining seven games, the feat will go into the record book as a season mark for a 162-game schedule, Frick said, but it would not be considered as having broken the Ruth record. The Babe's name will remain in the book for his having hit 60 in a 154-game season. There will be no star or asterisk next to either Ruth's or Maris's name to disparage either record performance, Frick asserted. "If Maris, in these remaining games, hits 60, 61, or any number of more home runs, that record will go in the book, and it will be the record other players will shoot for as long as the 162-game schedule prevails," he said.
