Sez MEE: Congratulations to two of the very best
Kudos to Aaron Judge and to Albert Pujols. Those two sluggers reached milestones recently in a manner befitting the superstars they are in Major League baseball. If there is a feel-good story in baseball today, it's gotta be what these two have accomplished.
And, there's an interesting connection between the two that could become some answer to a trivia question asked on a game show.
Judge belted his 60th home run of the season on Sept. 20 off Wil Crowe of Pittsburgh. It brought him to within one of American League (and the New York Yankees team) record of 61.
The holder of both records is Roger Maris, who smacked 61 roundtrippers for the Yankees in 1961 in a historic chase to catch Babe Ruth's record (Yankees team and MLB at the time) 60 homers.
Pujols his No. 700 on Friday off Phil Bickford it was part of a two-homer game against the Dodgers, the team he finished last season playing for after he was released by the Angels. The first homer of the night for Pujols was off Los Angeles starter Andrew Heaney.
Pujols is back with the St. Louis Cardinals after signing with the club that drafted him way back when.
The useless bit of trivial connection between Judge and Pujols? Roger Maris. Maris set his mark with the Yankees, and then a few years later was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series champions of 1967 and Nation League champs of 1968.
What it most satisfying for the baseball fan is how these gentlemen have gone about reaching their accomplishments. In a time where so much is criticized, none can be heaped on Judge and Pujols.
Ever since the performance-enhancing home run binges of Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds, there has been a critical take on accomplishments made in the game.
There were some signals before the 1998 chase involving Sosa and McGwire that some form of performance-enhancing drug was being used by players. In 1997, Brady Anderson of Baltimore hit 50 home runs, which was, like, double what he had hit in any season previously.
McGwire hit 58 homers in 1997 and then blasted 70 in '98. Sosa finished 1998 with 66 homers and went on to belt 60 or more dingers two more times, something no other player has done.
There was that day at Wrigley Field in early September when the Cubs were playing the Milwaukee Brewers. It happened to be a special giveaway day and a guy, his wife and two of the kids were there, sitting in the bleachers.
On that day, Sosa went yard twice to tie and pass Maris' total. McGwire had already his hit his 61st, doing so earlier in the week against the Cubs in St. Louis.
Bonds went on to hit 73 and set a new single-season standard on his way to a record 762 homers in his career, breaking the mark of Hank Aaron, who finished with 755.
It would be hypocritical to call out McGwire, Sosa and Bonds for their accomplishments despite being accused of having used performance-enhancing drugs. This is so because it was a joy watching the Sosa-McGwire chase in 1998. It was sad to learn of what contributed to it later, but it was still a great show at the time.
Also, they weren't the only ones using or accused of using. There were also pitchers who allegedly juiced.
As for Bonds, I have felt since the time he was belting all those home runs that it was more the body armor he wore — the big shield that was called an elbow protector. This allowed him to cover the plate with less risk of injury. Before the protector, anything close backed him off the plate. With it, he was able to use it to protect himself and got hit by a pitch more frequently.
It also allowed him to narrow his strike zone, which meant he had better pitches to select from when he did swing.
It's because of the Bonds-McGwire-Sosa saga, however, that seems to have the baseball world feeling refreshed by the accomplishments of Judge and Pujols. It also helps that these are well-respected players and well-liked by the fans, media and other players.
I don't think it's a matter of whether Aaron Judge will surpass Maris, but when. What's more, I think it's something that is being accepted graciously and respectfully by the Maris family and all of baseball. Unlike when Maris broke Babe Ruth's record (can you say “asterisk”?)
And for Pujols, he is the standard bearer for how to respect the game and everything that is positive about it.
So, congratulations Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols on a job well done.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Erich Murphy Sez MEE Albert Pujols Aaron Judge Sammy Sosa
