Dream season for MLB? Aaron Judge eclipsing Barry Bonds
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates with Josh Donaldson (28) after hitting his 60th home run of the season, during the ninth inning of the team's baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh) Credit: Jessie Alcheh
Aaron Judge represents Major League Baseball’s dream shot over these next two weeks.
He’s already a larger-than-life face of the sport, a charismatic ambassador for the game playing in the nation’s biggest media market.
But Judge also could be the commissioner’s hero down this history-making stretch and the champion of all those who believe that Roger Maris never truly surrendered his single-season home run crown to Barry Bonds, the PED-stained slugger who belted 73 in 2001. What if Judge somehow goes on one last heater in these final 15 games, not only passing Maris' 61 but smashing his way to take down Bonds?
Judge moved one swing closer to that improbable feat Tuesday night by leading off the ninth inning with No. 60, tying the Babe with a Ruthian blast that sailed 430 feet into the left-centerfield bleachers. He was 0-for-3 with a walk to that point and struck out with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, but he spurred the five-run rally capped by Giancarlo Stanton’s walk-off grand slam to power the 9-8 victory.
“When you talk about Ruth and Maris and Mantle and all these Yankee greats . . . you never imagined as a kid being mentioned with them,” Judge said. “But it’s an incredible honor and something I don’t take lightly at all. We’re not done.”
And neither is Judge. He’s now the Yankee to reach 60 the fastest, doing so in the team’s 147th game (Ruth did it in 154, Maris 159). He's third in MLB history, trailing only Bonds (141) and Mark McGwire (142).
Turning the corner toward 70 is a scenario that Rob Manfred probably never imagined was within reach, only because it didn’t figure to be possible again without the help of banned substances. Just look at the list. The only three players to hit more home runs than Maris? Bonds, McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
To think that Judge would be the first “clean” player to crash that PED party is a gift to MLB, which has been tormented by its chemically tarnished past, especially with Bonds owning the most hallowed record in the sport. Having him bounce Bonds once and for all would be a conscience-cleaner for baseball as a whole, with no more talk about asterisks and steroid negligence by the commissioner’s office.
For the record, there is no such thing as a “clean” homer champ. Bonds owns the belt as MLB’s recognized title-holder until somebody hits 74. Even Judge has said that. But he could right a lot of wrongs over the final weeks of this season and end the debate once and for all.
“That’s a pretty tall task to get to that one,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But I wouldn’t necessarily have thought 60 going into the year at this point either, so. I guess I’ll put nothing past him.”
While unlikely, there does seem to be at least a percentage chance for Judge, who’s now hit three homers in two games, five in his last six and 14 in his last 25. Based on his season-long pace, Judge would finish with 66. But he’s capable of superhuman streaks, and depending on how Boone wants to rest him after the Yankees clinch the AL East title, there’s no reason Judge can’t make a push for 70.
“I think there’s no limit and there’s no jumping the gun,” said Stanton, who hit a career-high 59 homers in 159 games during his MVP season for the Marlins in 2017. “But as the distractions and everything else come to him, that’s when he has to be more tunnel-vision and just be ready for what’s coming.”
If you look at Judge’s most prolific homer stretch from earlier this year, he’s displayed the ability to get there. During a 14-game span from July 16 to Aug. 1, he smacked 12 home runs and hit .462 with a 1.774 OPS.
Not impossible. Despite the roster collapsing around him, Judge also has a very good chance to win the Triple Crown. On Tuesday, he moved into the American League lead in batting average (.316 to Boston’s Xander Bogaerts’ .315 and Minnesota's Luis Arraez's .314). Judge leads Houston's Yordan Alvarez by 23 homers and has 128 RBIs, 13 more than Cleveland's Jose Ramirez.
At the end of August, Judge was hitting .296, but he has gone 28-for-59 (.475) in 16 games in September. Anything feels possible this month (and into October).
Boone, who played during the Bonds Era, believes that Judge already is having a superior season to Bonds' superhuman flex in 2001. Particularly when you factor in the PEDs surging through the sport at that time.
“I think it puts it a notch above, without question,” Boone said before Tuesday’s game. “I think in context, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better season.”
And yet, in some eyes, Judge could be a savior. Get to 73, and baseball gets a clean slate. To go from Ruth to Maris to Judge would be MLB’s dream scenario, but it's a long shot that will require every ounce of his might the rest of the way.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
