Roger Maris Jr. wasn’t on hand to see Aaron Judge break his father’s record, but that didn’t stop him from doubling down on the Yankees star holding the “clean” home run mark.
“Congratulations to Aaron Judge and his family on Aaron’s historic home run number 62!,” Maris Jr. tweeted shortly after the right fielder led off Game 2 of the Yankees’ doubleheader against the Rangers with homer on Tuesday. “It has definitely been a baseball season to remember. You are all class and someone who should be revered. For the MAJORITY of the fans, we can now celebrate a new CLEAN HOME RUN KING!!”
The blast by Judge, 30, set a new American League and Yankees single-season mark, but Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds all had more home runs in the National League with Bonds holding the MLB record at 73. Those records have come under scrutiny with all three being linked to performance enhancing drug use.
Maris Jr. said after watching Judge connect for No. 61 in Toronto on Sept. 28 that he believed he should be celebrated as the single-season home run king and that he felt Bonds, Sosa and McGwire’s records were illegitimate.
“It means a lot, not just for me. I think it means a lot for a lot of people that he’s clean, he’s a Yankee, he plays the game the right way and I think he gives people a chance to look at somebody who should be revered for hitting 62 home runs and not just as a guy who did it in the American League,’’ Maris Jr. said after No. 61.
Maris and his family had been at all of the Yankees home games recently as Judge approached this father’s record. He hugged the Yankees star’s mom Patty after he hit the record-tying dinger in Toronto, knowing the strain the chase can put on both the athlete and his family.
Everything to know about Aaron Judge and his chase for the home run record:
Judge was taken out of Tuesday’s game after his second at-bat.
“I see [Aaron] Boone is given Aaron a well deserved rest! The guy must be drained. If Judge stays at 62 home runs I will say that 62 in 22 has a great ring to it … much like 61 in 61,” Maris tweeted.
