New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is currently on pace to hit 65 home runs this season, which is comfortably ahead of Roger Maris’ historic 61 in ’61. Those 61 homers that Maris clubbed in 1961, surpassed Babe Ruth for the single season record at the time. It still stands today as both the New York Yankees and American League record. Honestly, for many baseball purists it is still the gold standard for single season home run hitting.
Yes, it was surpassed by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998, who both got surpassed by Barry Bonds in 2001, but all of those seasons all have asterisks. All were using performance enhancing drugs that gave them an unfair advantage, so those records aren’t truly legit. Maris holds the pre-Steroid Era home run record, but he himself had an asterisk too (more on all of that in a bit)
First, let’s look at where we currently stand, heading into action on Tuesday August 9. This is a snippet of some of the numbers and stats on MLB.com, their Aaron Judge and Roger Maris side by side.
Most HR in a season, MLB history — with totals through 110 team games:
2001 Barry Bonds: 73 — 46
1998 Mark McGwire: 70 — 45
1998 Sammy Sosa: 66 — 42
2022 Aaron Judge: 65 (current pace) — 44
Most HR in a season, MLB history:
2001 Barry Bonds: 73
1998 Mark McGwire: 70
1998 Sammy Sosa: 66
1999 Mark McGwire: 65
2001 Sammy Sosa: 64
1999 Sammy Sosa: 63
1961 Roger Maris: 61
1927 Babe Ruth: 60
Most HR in a season, Yankees history:
1961 Roger Maris: 61
1927 Babe Ruth: 60
1921 Babe Ruth: 59
Maris’ record wasn’t considered legit by many at the time, because the Major League season had expanded from 154 games (in Ruth’s time) to 162. But the real difference that mattered was this- Maris had 698 plate appearances and 590 at bats in 1961 while Ruth had 691 plate appearances and 540 at bats in 1927.
The PAs are almost identical but the ABs are far off.
That said, Maris’ skeptics had a much different cause than the triad of human science projects that was Sosa, McGwire and Bonds.
Steroids do not improve your ability to hit a baseball or increase your bat speed. But they help you recover from injury faster and increase the amount of at bats you get to have in your prime. They also extend your career so that your prime lasts a few years longer.
Not to mention the obvious, HGH (human growth hormone) rapidly builds muscle mass which adds a lot of distance, launch angle and exit velocity on your hits. It’s the Brady Anderson rule you could say.
The infamous juicer never hit more than 21 homers in a single season, until 1996, when he clubbed 50. He never topped 24 in a season after that. He was just a guy that turned fly ball outs into taters and dingers, with the help of the roids.
Now it would be really nice to have a home run record with an asterisk again. As for Bonds, well….
Now I know what you’re saying, provided you’re not a fan of the Bronx Bombers- another Yankee? Really? Does it always have to be someone from that franchise?
Well, I feel you- as we all got sick of watching the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. But all you can do is try to become better and beat them, I mean it is what it is. But that’s still way better than the any of the guys who made their heads grow five sizes, all in the interests of socking more dingers, getting more publicity and with that fatter paychecks.
Roger Maris Jr. may not want Judge to pass up his Dad, and that’s totally fair and understandable. However, for baseball itself, Judge can help the game out a lot by hitting 62+ long balls this season.
If he can somehow sock 74 before all is said and done, all the better. Or simply put #AllRise
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.