Roger Maris Jr. Celebrates ‘CLEAN HOME RUN KING’ Aaron Judge, Casts Shade on Steroid-Era Players: ‘Finally Have Someone to Revere’

Sarah RumpfOct 5th, 2022, 11:42 am
 
Aaron Judge hits home run #62

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge slammed his way into the history books Tuesday when his 62nd home run of the season knocked out the previous American League and franchise record set by Roger Maris in 1961 — and he received an online high five from Maris’ son.

The record-setting hit came during the first game of the Yankees’ doubleheader against the Texas Rangers. This weekend, the 30-year-old outfielder had called it an “honor to be given a chance to be associated with Maris” and the “stuff you dream about.”

Barry Bonds holds the all-time single-season home run record with 73 during the 2001 season, and Mark McGwire had racked up 70 home runs in 1998 in a famous record chase that year with Sammy Sosa, who ended up finishing with 66. But those three names are viewed as having asterisks on their accomplishments due to the widespread steroid use during that era of Major League Baseball.

Maris’ son Roger Maris Jr. clearly holds that view. He’s been enthusiastically cheering for Judge as the Yankee player approached the record his father set while on the team over six decades ago — and posting tweets acknowledging Bonds as “the best baseball player ever,” and that he, McGwire, and Sosa were “exciting to watch,” but “what Aaron is doing tops them all.”

“Maybe not for everyone but for everyone who loves CLEAN baseball,” Maris Jr. added.

Maris Jr. was clearly thrilled with Judge’s 62nd home run Tuesday night, posting multiple tweets calling him the “new CLEAN HOME RUN KING!!”

“It has definitely been a baseball season to remember,” he tweeted,” calling Judge “all class and someone who should be revered.”

“For the MAJORITY of the fans, we can now celebrate a new CLEAN HOME RUN KING!!” he added.

“Aaron Judge is the new CLEAN HOME RUN KING!!” Maris Jr. wrote in a subsequent tweet. “All the young kids who watched Aaron Judge set the single season record for home runs … you finally have someone to revere! No more trying to explain to you how someone could possibly hit 73 home runs.”

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.