Apparently, Roger Maris' son feels the same way, saying that if Judge hits #62, he (Maris) would view him (Judge) as the single-season HR record-holder.
I know, officially, according to MLB, it's Bonds. But I would share Maris, Jr.'s view.
How about a band box asterisk? Ignoring all the other opaque efforts to benefit hitters over the past decade, new Yankee stadium has little league dimensions. What did outfields look like in 1927 and 1961?
The rules and field dimensions during Babe Ruth's era were drastically different. Had he played with modern rules and stadiums, he would have supposedly hit 104 homers in 1921. Although, not really, since at that point you'd just intentionally walk him most of the time.
On the other hand, pitchers threw much slower during his era, with lower spin rates.
I'm no fan of the Yankees, but plenty of Judge's home runs are monster shots. And the cheap home runs in Yankee Stadium are in the right field seats. As a righty, Judge hits most of his to left.
Judge is a very good ballplayer. He is certainly not a one-dimensional power hitter, nor is he just getting cheap homeruns.
I'm just not willing to say that any of these are not legit. Ruth had to hit in cavernous fields, even on the road, but was the pitching the same? Bonds was an incredible ball player, before drugs, after drugs. Anyone can frame an argument to minimize any one of these achievements.
I know, officially, according to MLB, it's Bonds. But I would share Maris, Jr.'s view.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Year_Babe_Ruth_Hit_104_Home_Runs.
The rules and field dimensions during Babe Ruth's era were drastically different. Had he played with modern rules and stadiums, he would have supposedly hit 104 homers in 1921. Although, not really, since at that point you'd just intentionally walk him most of the time.
On the other hand, pitchers threw much slower during his era, with lower spin rates.
I'm just not willing to say that any of these are not legit. Ruth had to hit in cavernous fields, even on the road, but was the pitching the same? Bonds was an incredible ball player, before drugs, after drugs. Anyone can frame an argument to minimize any one of these achievements.