New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge on HR record debate against Barry Bonds: "I’ll say I have the AL record. I’ll hold my head on that”
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, who recently smashed 62 home runs in a season, said that Barry Bonds is his favorite and still considers him to be the rightful record holder.
Judge told TIME:
“I’ll say I have the AL record. I’ll hold my head on that.”
Judge also didn't dissuade anyone's opinion and said:
“I’m not going to try to change someone’s opinion if they say I am, or I’m not,” he says. “That’s up to them.”
Since Judge's prospects of breaking the single-season home run record became a reality, there has been much disagreement about the actual record. The all-time record of 73 homers set by Bonds in 2001 is tainted because it is commonly assumed he used steroids. Hence, many believe the true record is 62, now owned by Judge.
During an interview with Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, Aaron Judge said:
“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. The AL record is 61, so that is one I can kind of try to go after. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it’s been a fun year so far.”
Bonds played 22 seasons in the MLB, including withuding the San Francisco Giants and is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Barry Bonds wants Aaron Judge to break his HR record
In a phone chat with Sportico's Barry M. Bloom, Barry Bonds stated that he would like Judge to "go for" his record of 73 home runs:
“Go for it. The way he swings, he might as well hit one a day and get past me. I don’t care. Why not?”
Judge has decided to stay back with the Yankees. Last year's American League MVP signed a nine-year, $360 million deal extension.
Earlier this year, he turned down a contract from the Yankees worth $213.5 million over seven years. He recognized that his skills were valuable and took the chance to gain them by entering free agency.
Aaron Judge turned down an 8 year $232.5M contract with the #Yankees this week and will bet on himself to hit the open market next December.
He’ll turn 30 in 18 days.
"Aaron Judge turned down an 8 year $232.5M contract with the #Yankees this week and will bet on himself to hit the open market next December. He’ll turn 30 in 18 days." - Spotrac
Judge was unanimously selected as the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017.
In 2022, Aaron Judge won the AL Most Valuable Player Award.