A Steroid-less Barry Bonds and a Blank Check Ahead
August 1, 2022
Written By: Jay Looch
Sports are our escape route to real world problems. A few hours a day to sit back and yell at the TV like we are a part of the team…A few hours a day to dream about what it would be like if you were out there playing the game you love and make the money they do…A few hours a day to forget you have to be up in 7 hours to go get reamed out by your boss.
This weekend we had some more baseball under the sun and yet some more moon shots over in the Bronx. What Aaron Judge is doing right now is flat out ridiculous. Yes, the Yankees might be off to a slow start to the second half of the season, but Aaron Judge hasn’t missed a step. In his last 14 games he is batting .426 with 12 home runs and 26 RBI’s. No, those aren’t video game stats. That is real life. “Judge is the first player in MLB history with at least 12 home runs, 23 hits, and 26 RBI’s in ANY 14-game span” Per Katie Sharp. So simply, no one has ever done what he is doing right now. He is on pace for 60+ home runs and a blank check at the end of the season. 42 home runs before the month of August is some sort of cheat code. However, steroids are being tested across the league for everyone and Aaron Judge’s piss is clean as can be. Now it might not be possible to catch Barry Bonds 73 home run season, but my goodness the fact that this is even a conversation goes a long way. Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire all got caught red handed. Whether some of them still plead innocent or not, the piss don’t lie. Those three guys hold the top spots on the most home runs in a single season, but also hold asterisks next to their names. It seems like Judge is chasing a Yankee great in Roger Maris who hit 61 homers back in 1961. Which he is in fact on pace for.
This is leading to Judge getting one of the biggest contracts in sports come the end of the season. Prior to the season, Judge turned down a deal to make him $30 Million a year for the next 7 seasons. A contract that would’ve paid him more than 2 time MVP Bryce Harper. Judge put the ball in his court and decided to test the waters on what else is out there. The deal in my opinion was generous for Judge, but he believes in himself that he should be making more. He took all the pressure off the Yankees and put all the pressure on himself. Before the season it was a known fact that if Aaron Judge wants the money he does in his next deal and wants the years behind it to back it up, he has to have a whole season of MVP caliber baseball. Judge is doing just that. He is proving to the world why he declined the deal with the Yankees and why he deserves to be one of the highest paid athletes in sports. Judge is on his way to a blank check and every fan in baseball should want this guy on your team. Essentially a 5 tool player at 6 foot 7 and leader in the clubhouse.
Moral of the story, I will in fact sacrifice part of my salary to donate to Aaron Judge’s new contract. As a fan of the Yankees, I will do my part to keep him in NY. Where do I sign?