Roger Maris Jr. on Aaron Judge chasing father's HR record: 'If somebody had to break it, I can't think of a better guy'
Among the bevy of MLB storylines as the 2022 regular season approaches September, prime among them is New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge chasing Roger Maris' franchise single-season home run record.
Judge -- who is in a battle with Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani for the AL MVP award -- already tied (and passed) Maris on the Yankees' all-time home run list earlier this month when he hit the 203rd dinger of his career.
The Bronx Bombers' current franchise cornerstone hit his 51st home run of the season on Tuesday and is now 10 away from tying Maris' mark of 61, ironically set 61 years ago in 1961. New York has 32 games left in the regular season.
Maris -- who like Judge, primarily played right field -- passed away at just 51 years old in 1985, but his family is still keeping up with the club and is closely tracking Judge's pursuit of the record.
"Well, we don’t want him to break it," the late former two-time MVP's oldest child, Roger Maris Jr. said, per WFAN. "I mean I do want Dad to keep the record, but that being said, records are meant to be broken. And if somebody had to break it I can’t think of a better guy. He’s a class individual for one, a great ballplayer for two, and he’s a great Yankee. And to be able to do that in New York would be an amazing thing. I think it would be great for the city, it would be great for the fans, and it would be fun and entertaining for the family to see what he could do."
According to WFAN's Sweeny Murti, Maris Jr. "catches mostly highlights and games when he can from his home in Florida." The son of the legend spoke of the various similarities between the two big bats as well.
"Great guy, low-key guy kinda like Dad was," he said. "Not a big rah-rah guy, just plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. He just does so many great things on the field. He can hit, he can run, hit with power, he can run the bases. He’s just an all-around player. What’s there not to like?"
Many baseball "purists" argue that Maris still holds MLB's single-season home run record. In the official record books though, the famous 1998 summer chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa resulted in both sluggers passing Maris' mark at 70 and 66 respectively.
McGwire and Sosa then pummeled 65 and 63 long balls in 1999 and Sosa hit 64 more in 2001. Barry Bonds holds the official all-time single-season home run record with 73, recorded in 2001 as well.
"Yea, I think so," Maris said, when asked if his father's mark was a more legitimate, clean record. "And I also feel like the court of public opinion feels the same way. I think just based on what’s happened and what’s come to light since all the home runs were hit back in the day there with the steroids I think people realized (61) is the record."
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