No, Aaron Judge won’t be baseball’s ‘real’ home run king if he gets to 62 this season.
No, Aaron Judge won’t be baseball’s ‘real’ home run king if he gets to 62 this season. Giancarlo Stanton, then of the Marlins, attempted to hit 60 home runs in 2017. He scored a total of 59. Incredibly entertaining, indeed. The on-field action, at least, was exciting.
It was a bit of a chore to sit through all of those attempts to re-litigate the past. Here’s what we know from Matt Snyder: “This topic is being discussed because it has recently occurred once more. Stanton’s current Yankees teammate, Aaron Judge, has already hit 57 home runs with three weeks left in the season.”
You can count on it being loads of fun every time. A wave of “true home run record” debate has emerged, with many people noting that the careers of the other single-season leaders peaked during baseball’s “steroid era.” Since Judge is performing in New York, the volume level is naturally higher.
Declarations
Clearly, we need to have a discussion about this. Again. The two of us discussed this on August 25, 2017. Since I’ve matured, I won’t be quite as harsh, but I’ll still make the same points I made before.
The actual record for most home runs in a season is 73. That year (2001), Barry Bonds clubbed 73 home runs. In 1998, Mark McGwire batted.700. In 1998, Sammy Sosa became 66 years old. In 1999, McGwire had 65 home runs while Sosa had 63. In 2001, Sosa also had a career-high RBI total of 64.
All of those things did occur. They have been documented for all time. We get a flood of complaints from fans on social media every time we at sports unfold point out that these things actually did occur.
So, I’m supposed to pick and choose which numbers to include and which to disregard at will? This belief in my authority comes as a great compliment. I, unfortunately, do not. That these figures actually occurred is without dispute. Indeed, they exist.
If Judge hits his 62nd home run this year, there will be calls for it to be considered the “genuine” home run record. It’s simply not accurate. In reality, number 73 is the highest ever recorded. Although you may have hoped otherwise, it has in fact occurred.
This is the point when someone would respond with an emoji of a needle sticking out of their arm, which, I might add, is quite clever and unique and everyone who does it should be so proud of themselves, so let’s talk about it so everyone can feel included.
Okay, so let’s speak about the setting.
There’s always context behind numbers.
There was a huge uptick in runs scored during the so-called drug or PED era of Major League Baseball. Various variables led to this boom, but one that stands out to many is the widespread use of PEDs among MLB players without any testing for them. Since 2005, when the league first began testing, everyone has been presumed to be clean.
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Statement
PEDs are an easy scapegoat because of these statistics, plus the fact that all six seasons with more than 61 home runs occurred in 1998, 1999, and 2001. In 2017, I made the following statement:
Barry Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs according to what you know (or claim to know). OK. Many other players were also using performance-enhancing drugs, and the league made little effort to catch them.
This is not meant to provide some sort of moral justification; it is simply the case. Since no testing regimen was in place, it is impossible to say who was responsible for what. In 2001, we know that Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs. That’s a proven fact.
Despite its immediate benefits, many feel this period was detrimental to baseball’s long-term health. You can’t just rewrite history to suit your purposes.
We’d have to keep going if you were interested in obliterating the past.
61 of Roger Maris’ 61 career home runs came that year. The product was diluted from the previous season because it was an expansion year. A total of 162 games are now scheduled for the AL (the NL stayed at 154 until 1962). Can we afford to be too gentle on Maris in this situation? His record-setting season included exactly 61 home runs, as luck would have it. Not bad, right?
If we deduct anything from Maris, it should go toward Babe Ruth’s record-setting 60 home runs in 1927. That league was the only one that hadn’t yet joined the fold. Is it fair to suggest that a league that banned players of colour set the “actual” home run record?
Asterisks can be applied to every 60-homer season in baseball history.
Listen, I get that many folks were hurt by the “steroid era” and now hope that the players have cleaned up their act. That makes complete sense. I find it offensive that the league’s rules at the time Ruth played did not permit players of different races to participate, but given his record, there’s nothing we can do about it today. They occurred.
Similar statistics from the “PED” era appeared.
It’s important to remember that things change. I’ll repeat what I mentioned back in 2017: “Factors exist that distort statistical analysis. Integration, expansion, altered ballpark size, tighter or looser ball winding, altered pitcher’s mound height, the introduction of the designated hitter, the rise of the relief specialist, and a host of other factors have all contributed to these shifts in baseball.”
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With such factors at play, statistics will shift throughout the course of future generations. No pitcher will ever win 511 games again, hence Cy Young has the record. I bet you didn’t realise Cy Young also holds the record for most full games ever played (749). The modern era’s top pitchers rarely reach 75 career complete games. That mark has not been broken. There’s no need to wipe the slate clean of full games so that Clayton Kershaw can break the record.
I can see how those who believe 61 is the “true home run record” could have a different opinion. In their view, the “PED” era tainted baseball, and the era’s statistics should be expunged. Yet again, I could remind out that racist segregation was a worse disgrace to baseball, but I think it’s best to go with the flow here. Last time, someone drew a parallel between the removal of “PED” era statistics and how college sports remove honours and trophies after scandals.
Remarks
To begin, I always find it funny to take a vacation. I mean, to choose out one college football team specifically, I was able to witness USC’s 2004 national championship run.
The next season, Reggie Bush was named the Heisman Trophy winner. I personally witnessed him accepting the award. This actually occurred. I know it to be true! Getting rid of them doesn’t change the fact that our eyes saw them happen. That doesn’t mean the people involved have forgotten what happened. This actually transpired.
In any case, MLB has not even done this with any “steroid era” stats.
That being the case, this seems like quite a feeble argument. You could make the case that MLB should clear the records, but they haven’t. Even if the league did this, it wouldn’t change our past experiences, and it would be a dangerous precedent to set by voiding numbers in this way, especially given that the league wasn’t even testing.
We can make sense of the bigger picture in so many different areas of life.
That’s relevant to Judge’s quest for 60 home runs or more. In the first place, 61 is still the all-time AL high.
A judge has a chance to break the all-time record for home runs in the American League. Believe that Judge has the “clean” record if he reaches 62 if you’re one of the people who genuinely dislike the figures from the 1998-2001 seasons. You should be able to.
You are not authorized to make claims about what is or is not “real.”
That year (2001), Barry Bonds clubbed 73 home runs. For a single season, that is the record for home runs. It’s a fact; you don’t have to accept it or even like it if it hurts your feelings. This actually occurred.
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