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Posted By: Max Weder

When Maris broke Ruth's record, Ford Frick announced that two records would be kept: most HR in a 154 game season and most in a 162. A batter would thus have to hit more than 60 in the first 154 to beat the Babe. Roger Maris pointed that he hit 61 home runs in 154 games in 1961, it just wasn't the first 154 (he went homerless in the first 8 games)

This thread recurs fairly regularly on SABR L, and the conclusion always is that Frick never used the word "asterisk" in this context.

Max