Yankees: Bonds vs. Maris vs. Judge about “different eras,” Justin Verlander says

With all of the talk surrounding Aaron Judge’s chase for 60 home runs, there has been nearly as much buzz about exactly which home run record Judge should be chasing, including some words about MLB history and numbers during a recent interview with Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander.

New York Yankees fans are waiting to see if Judge can knock Roger Maris off the top of the franchise’s home run charts. The 61 homers posted by Maris in 1961 stood as the record for 37 years before the summer of 1998 brought us the chase for 70 between Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs and Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals.

McGwire’s 70 home runs stood as a single-season record for a much shorter time before Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants logged 73 round-trippers in 2001.

So which home run record is the real home run record that Aaron Judge of the Yankees is chasing? Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander was recently lobbed that question.

On an episode of HBO’s “On the Record with Bob Costas,” the veteran sportscaster asked Verlander for his thoughts on the home run chase. For the right-hander, he chose his words carefully, speaking of “different eras” when it comes to comparing Maris and Bonds and the records each held and who was the “authentic home run champion.”

“I think it’s really hard to compare eras,” Verlander said. “And that Barry Bonds era is a unique distinction in this game.”

Verlander went on to wonder about what would happen if Maris or Babe Ruth was inserted into today’s game with harder-throwing relievers, as well as say that Judge “should be celebrated” if he passes the team record established by Maris.

You can watch his comments about the home run chase in the clip below.

With his MLB debut in 2005, Verlander never faced Bonds or McGwire, but Sosa was 1-for-3 lifetime against him while Judge is currently 2-for-14 with a solo home run.