Debate erupted among baseball fans about where Aaron Judgethe season ends MLB history after Art New York Yankees the star smashed his 62nd homer of the year October 4.
“One of the big conversations this year has been the pursuit of Aaron Judge [Roger] Maris [home run] a record that… was great for the sport,” “Cardboard show” the master Craig Carton said Monday. “But then there was an argument that I think is irrelevant, which is, what’s the home run record? [Barry] Bonds’ 73 … or [is] is that Aaron Judge’s 62?”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred joined the show to discuss the debate and share the commissioner’s office’s position on the single-season home run record.
“We’ve always taken the position that the record book says what it says,” Manfred said. “You can’t change what happened, you can’t undo what happened. I think in terms of numbers, you know, baseball has a long history. Different things happened in different eras. The ball was different, the mound height was different, and the fans make their own judgments.
“I think you saw with Aaron Judge [that] it was an absolutely monumental performance, and the fans responded to it in just that way. I think this is kind of the end of our story [point-of-view].”
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The debate stems from critics of Bonds’ record, who say it shouldn’t count or carry as much weight because of Bonds’ links to performance-enhancing drugs. However, Bonds holds the MLB single-season home run record with 73, set in 2001.
Judge surpassed Morris for the most home runs in a season by an American League player this season, a mark that had stood for 61 years.
Manfred also touched on several other hot topics in baseball, including Shohei Ohtanisecond consecutive underwhelming season and if MLB will ditch umpires in the future.
“[Ohtani] it’s a tremendous talent,” Manfred said [has] just not like anyone else [him] certainly in any of our lives. … We’re really focused on internationalizing the game, and having a player from outside of North America who is as great — maybe the best player in the game — is very important to that effort.
“I cannot overstate its importance.”
Ohtani went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA as a pitcher last regular season with 219 strikeouts and just 44 walks. He also hit .273 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs.
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As for umpireless baseball in the near future, Manfred said it could be coming our way.
“I think you’re going to see an automated system in some form,” he said. “We use two uniforms in the junior leagues. One where the machine calls each pitch and the other is a call system. It takes about four seconds to call.
“There is a good chance that we will take advantage of it [at] major league level at some point.”
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