After a long wait, Aaron Judge made history on Tuesday night, blasting his 62nd home run of the season to take the American League single-season record, passing fellow Yankees great Roger Maris.
With Maris’s family traveling with the Yankees in recent weeks, he and Judge’s legacies have been intertwined. Another baseball great that has been inextricably linked to the discussion: MLB home run king Barry Bonds, whose 73 home runs in 2001 remains the sport’s record.
Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa—the three players with more single-season home runs than Judge—are all heavily connected to baseball’s “Steroid Era,” marring their accomplishments in the eyes of many. That hasn’t stopped Bonds from supporting Judge throughout this home run chase, and late Tuesday night, he posted his congratulations to the Yankees star on his Instagram story.
In September, when it looked like Judge might have an outside shot of catching Bonds’s 73, the former Giants great said that he’d like to see a run at his record.
“Go for it,” Bonds said, via Sportico. “The way he swings he might as well hit one a day and get past me. I don’t care. Why not?”
Bonds also expressed his hope that Judge—a free agent-to-be—would return to his native California and sign with the Giants.
Of course, others now see Judge as the “true” MLB record-holder, with Roger Maris Jr. leading the way on the Judge side of that debate.
“Congratulations to Aaron Judge and his family on Aaron’s historic home run number 62! It has definitely been a baseball season to remember. You are all class and someone who should be revered. For the MAJORITY of the fans, we can now celebrate a new CLEAN HOME RUN KING!!,” Maris Jr. tweeted on Tuesday night.
Judge does not feel the same way though, and still respects Bonds as the record-holder. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, he made his thoughts on the matter very clear.
“Seventy-three is the record,” Judge said. “In my book. No matter what people want to say about that era of baseball, for me, they went out there and hit 73 homers and 70 homers, and that to me is what the record is.”
- Aaron Judge: The Authentic Home Run King
- Aaron Judge Reacts to Fan Who Caught Home Run Ball No. 62
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- Inside The Pinstripes: CLEAN HOME RUN KING’: Roger Maris Jr. Congratulates Aaron Judge on 62nd Home Run
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