When New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the season on Wednesday night, some people defended the notion that he now holds, together with Roger Maris, the true record for most homers in a single season.
Roger Maris Jr. is one of the defenders of that idea.
He said, on Wednesday, that he believes Judge will be the home run king if/when he hits 62.
This stems from the fact that recordman Barry Bonds, who hit 73 in 2001, has been tied to the use of steroids much like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
McGwire and Sosa are the two other players who have hit more than 61 homers in a year.
Judge is now tied to Maris for the Yankees and the American League highest mark, but even though the evidence says he did use steroids, Bonds remain the owner of the MLB mark.
Bonds Still Holds The MLB Record For Most Homers In A Season
MLB analyst Jared Carrabis reminded people of this.
“Aaron Judge hitting 61 means something. When he hits 62, that’ll mean something, too. But unless he hits 74, Barry Bonds is still the Home Run King no matter what Roger Maris Jr. says. He don’t get to decide that,” Carrabis tweeted.
Aaron Judge hitting 61 means something. When he hits 62, that’ll mean something, too. But unless he hits 74, Barry Bonds is still the Home Run King no matter what Roger Maris Jr. says. He don’t get to decide that.
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) September 29, 2022
It may be controversial for a lot of reasons, but Carrabis is right: Bonds hit 73 homers in 2001, and nobody has been able to surpass that, steroids or not.
Even Judge acknowledges that.
He played in a time in which steroids were used widely because MLB didn’t penalize them.
Judge has achieved an incredible feat: he now has the record for most homers in a single campaign in the history of the American League.
But Bonds has the MLB record.
NEXT: Aaron Judge Already Declared His True Home Run King