New York Yankees: Aaron Judge – the single season home run king?
If Aaron Judge does get to 62+ homers on the season, the New York Yankees slugger could be in the center of controversy.
According to the record books, Barry Bonds is the single season home run leader, having belted 73 homers in 2001. However, a significant faction of MLB fandom refuses to consider him the single season home run king due to PED allegations despite never failing a test. The same can be said for Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, who holds the second through sixth spots on the single season home run list, although McGwire eventually admitted to his own PED usage.
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge – the ‘real’ single season home run king?
That leaves the man in seventh as the single season home run king. According to that section of the fanbase, the real home run king is Roger Maris, who had his 61 homers in 1961. Even his mark was controversial as he was infamously given an asterisk for breaking Babe Ruth’s record with eight more games on the schedule.
Then there is Judge. He has belted 51 homers entering Wednesday and is on pace for 63 this season. Not only would that put him ahead of Maris on the all time list and give him the AL single season title, but he would tie Sosa for the sixth most in any one year.
Judge getting to 63 homers, or 62 for that matter, would add another level to that debate. He would likely be considered the single season home run king by those who want to ignore the PED Era, his total uncontroversial. If he manages to hit, or surpass, the 60 homer mark before the Yankees have played 154 games this season, then so much the better.
The question of the actual single season home run king is not going to go away. Unless Judge goes on a historic tear and belts 23 homers in just over a month, Bonds is still going to be atop that list. However, Judge could end up with the AL record and, in the minds of some, the major league record as well.
Next. Judge joins pair of Yankees legends. dark
Aaron Judge could find himself in an unexpected place at the end of the season. The New York Yankees slugger could be considered the single season home run king.