Friday BP: Aaron Judge did an awesome thing. Now stop trying to rewrite history
Sep 30, 2022 - 12:00 PMGood morning, baseball fans!
I cannot believe, in the year of our Mays 2022, that we are having this conversation. But here we are.
On Wednesday night, Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris for the most home runs in a single season of the American League with 61. It was an impressive feat and my hat is off to him. He deserves all of the accolades and attention he is currently receiving.
What he does not deserve is for people to take this impressive achievement and use it to fan the flames of their narratives about Barry Bonds. This moment is not about Bonds. Judge did not break Bonds’ record, he himself has said that Bonds is the home run king and 73 is the number to beat.
And yet, grumpy people looking to pick fights rather than celebrate a great moment in baseball keep making this about Bonds and not Judge himself.
Roger Maris Jr. on Aaron Judge: "He should be revered for being the actual single-season home run champ. That's really who he is if he hits 62." pic.twitter.com/0uCipHHJkU
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 29, 2022
You can dislike the fact that different eras of baseball have all had players doing things that wouldn’t fly by today’s standards. You can dislike Barry Bonds, personally. There are a lot of reasons to! But the numbers are the numbers, and rewriting history by trying to slap an asterisk on records 20+ years later is just....sad, really.
At the end of the day, this moment is about Aaron Judge. Who I would love to see beat the actual home run record. Preferably at Oracle Park as a member of the San Francisco Giants. But regardless of all that speculation, he deserves to have this moment be about him, and not about gripes from the past.
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants start their penultimate series of the year, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, tonight at 7:15 p.m. PT at Oracle Park.
Be the first!
Related News
- Monday BP: Merry Christmas Dec 25
- The ‘help, everything is awful the Dodgers have ruined everything we love but hey I guess it’s the holidays maybe that will make us feel better probably not though’ mailbag Dec 23
- 2024 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List No. 4 Dec 22
- Holiday Weekend BP: Heavy sigh Dec 22
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto rejects the Giants, signs with the Dodgers Dec 21
- Player Review: Austin Slater Dec 20
- Patrick Bailey out-bonuses Camilo Doval in the pre-arbitration bonus pool payouts Dec 20
- 2024 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List No. 3 Dec 20
- Maybe the Giants don’t have very much left to do this offseason after all Dec 20
- Wednesday/Thursday BP: Jung Hoo Lee on hitting at Oracle Park Dec 20
- Player Review: Casey Schmitt Dec 18
- Giants sign free agent catcher Tom Murphy Dec 18