Aaron Judge’s pursuit of the American League single-season home run record stole the headlines for the second half of Major League Baseball’s season.
For many, Judge’s passing of Roger Maris on the single-season home run list was not just an American League record, but the all-time record.
While Maris sat at seventh on the all-time list prior to Judge hitting home run No. 62 Tuesday night, a large portion of the baseball community considered him to be in first place, based on the allegations that Barry Bonds was using steroids in the season when he hit 73 home runs.
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The two players behind Bonds and in front of Maris – Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa – have also been linked to performance-enhancing drugs.
On Thursday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred joined ESPN’s program "Get Up" and suggested fans can make their own decisions on who is the true home run king.
"The record books say what they say," Manfred said. "I think that over the history of the game, there have been different eras – the ball performed differently, the equipment was different – and I think the best way to handle it is to let fans make their own judgment as to what records are most significant to them."
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Roger Maris Jr., the son of Roger Maris, has stated that Judge is the real home-run king after passing his father.
"He’s clean, he’s a Yankee, he plays the game the right way," Maris said last Wednesday after Judge tied his father. "I think it 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.
"He should be revered for being the actual single-season home run champ. That’s really who he is if he hits 62, and I think that’s what needs to happen. I think baseball needs to look at the records, and I think baseball should do something."
For his part, Judge has said that Bonds’ 73 home runs is the number to beat, regardless of what era the record occurred.
"Seventy-three is the record," Judge told Sports Illustrated in September. "In my book. No matter what people want to say about that era of baseball, for me, they went out there and hit 73 homers and 70 homers, and that to me is what the record is. The AL record is 61, so that is one I can kind of try to go after. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it’s been a fun year so far."
Manfred said Wednesday that he will not consider separating the record books from when MLB began testing for steroids.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report
