This season should be all about Aaron Judge’s pursuit of the home run record – steroid era inflation has ruined it

In a showdown with numerous stars, one hangs higher than all.

Aaron Judge is in the midst of one of the most remarkable seasons imaginable. He is the best player on baseball’s best team — the most storied and valuable franchise in sports — in the country’s largest market. His pursuit of 60-plus home runs should be the biggest story in sports. It should be one of the biggest news stories in the country, transforming Judge into baseball’s first true crossover star since Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Instead, baseball is paying the price for the crimes of the Steroid Era — again.

Judge has hit four home runs in the past four games, giving him an MLB-best 37 homers. He is on pace to hit 62, which would set the all-time American League record. It would be a consolation prize to immortality.

While you can logically separate Babe Ruth’s, Roger Maris’ and Judge’s feats from those of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds — and their reported use of performance-enhancing drugs — you cannot inject 1998-like adrenaline and anticipation into every Judge at-bat or unite millions of enthusiastic and hopeful fans to make baseball actually feel like the national pastime again.

No player will ever best Bonds’ mark of 73 home runs without games being added to the 162-game season. Despite an increased emphasis on launch angles and indifference regarding batting averages and strikeouts — in addition to the training/diet/etc. advantages of the modern player — only one player (Giancarlo Stanton) has hit more than 54 home runs since 2010.

What was the most hallowed record in sports no longer factors into a fan’s existence. The home run chases of Ruth and Maris — and most important, the potential for such pursuits every season — were the most thrilling events that could arise in any regular season. But barely anyone noticed when Stanton wound up with 59 home runs while playing for Miami in 2017. Judge will receive more attention and acclaim as part of a winner in New York, but he will largely embody one of baseball’s greatest problems — carrying great significance locally and minimal interest nationally.

Single-season records are the best in sports. All-time marks hold grandeur, but the slow march reveals the ending long before the final page. Single-game records lack the shared journeys that make single-season chases so much fun to follow.

Nothing can replace the importance of the home run record, but there are several marks still capable of eliciting interest nationwide. Here’s a look at which feats still carry such potential:

Hitting streak

Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak has never been truly endangered. Pete Rose reached 44 in 1978. Paul Molitor got to 39 in 1987. Jimmy Rollins’ streak ended at 38 in 2006. In an era of strikeouts and walks, DiMaggio’s 81-year-old record seems safer than ever, but the pursuit of one of sports’ most famous marks could actually be even more exciting than the home run chase with every game threatening the end of the streak.

Hit .400

No player has hit .400 since Ted Williams ended at .406 in 1941. George Brett hit .390 in 1980. Rod Carew hit .388 in 1977. Tony Gwynn, who was at .394 when the 1994 strike hit, is one of five players to hit .372 or better in the past quarter-century. As with Williams’ chase, such a ride could come down to the season’s final day.

The Grand Slam

Bobby Jones is the only golfer to win four majors in a calendar year (1930). Tiger Woods is the only player since then to win four straight (2000-01). In tennis, Rod Laver (1969) and Steffi Graf (1988) are the only players to complete a calendar-year grand slam. Serena Williams (2002-03) and Novak Djokovic (2015-16) each won four straight, but each squandered the calendar-year chance at the U.S. Open. Williams lost in the 2015 semifinals, and Djokovic lost in last year’s final.

Wins

One day, the 1972 Miami Dolphins will have company. The 2007 Patriots were a Helmet Catch away from finishing 19-0. There have been 13 teams to win at least their first 10 games since 1984, and it is always interesting to watch how long a team can stay perfect. The NBA, MLB and NHL single-season win marks have lost some luster, given that each record-holder failed to win that season’s championship.

Win streaks

The Lakers’ 33-game win streak has stood for five decades, though Steph Curry’s Warriors (28) and LeBron James’ Heat (27) nearly made history in recent years. Cleveland’s then-Indians set an American League record with 22 straight wins in 2017, but fell four shy of matching the 1916 New York Giants. The 2016-17 Columbus Blue Jackets were one win away from matching the 1992-93 Penguins’ 17-game win streak. It is always fascinating to watch a team that looks invincible.

Most rushing yards

Somehow, Eric Dickerson’s standard of 2,105 yards in 1984 still stands. Six players have topped 2,000 rushing yards since 1997, including Adrian Peterson, who amassed 2,097 during his MVP season in 2012. The addition of a 17th game to the schedule puts this record in greater jeopardy.

NHL goals

It would be incredible because it doesn’t feel like it could ever happen. After Wayne Gretzky scored 92 goals in 1981-82, Brett Hull (86) and Mario Lemeiux (85) each came close in the following years. But an era of reduced scoring and improved goaltending has resulted in just three players scoring at least 60 goals this century (Alexander Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Auston Matthews) and neither topping 65.

Scoreless innings streak

Orel Hershiser’s 59-inning streak in 1988 remains the best mark of the past 100 years, topping Don Drysdale’s 58-inning mark set in 1968. Zack Greinke joined the former Dodgers as the only pitchers since at least 1914 with six straight scoreless starts, running his streak to 45 ⅔ innings in 2015.

Stolen bases

Oh, how much fun it would be if Rickey Henderson’s mind-blowing total of 130 stolen bases from 1982 was challenged. But that would require players stealing bases again. No player has topped 70 steals since 2007. Thanks, Moneyball.

ERA

Last year, injury robbed Jacob deGrom of the opportunity to eclipse Bob Gibson’s legendary 1.12 ERA set in 1968. DeGrom’s 15 most recent starts — during which he produced a 1.08 ERA — were mesmerising.

Most passing touchdowns

Dan Marino shattered the NFL records for passing yards (5,084) and passing touchdowns (48) during his hallowed 1984 campaign. The yards mark has been bested 10 times since 2011, but Peyton Manning’s record-setting 2013 (55 touchdowns) could develop enough longevity to give that record the stature it once held.

– NY Post