Barry Bonds on Aaron Judge Home Run Record Chase: 'Go for It'

Barry Bonds, MLB's current home run king, said he supports New York Yankees star Aaron Judge in his pursuit of breaking his record.

"Go for it," Bonds said in an interview with Sportico published on Friday. "The way he swings he might as well hit one a day and get past me. I don't care. Why not?"

As of Friday, Judge is sitting at 60 home runs, which leaves him one dinger behind Roger Maris' American League record. Bonds set the all-time record for home runs in a single season when he hit 73 homers in 2001. During his time on the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants, Bonds also amassed enough long balls to set the career home run record of 762.

Bonds feels Judge has the potential to overtake him in the record books.

"That guy [Judge] has a chance to break a lot of those records. For sure," Bonds told Sportico.

Many baseball fans and members of the media have said that Bonds' records should include an asterisks mark due to numerous allegations made over the years about him using steroids. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa also surpassed Maris' 61 home runs in single seasons—while playing in the National League—but also have been accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Sportico reported that Bonds, who has yet to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, said there's little debate about who holds the records.

"It doesn't matter what people say," Bonds said. "In MLB it says Barry Bonds. That's all that matters, right? Anyone can have their own opinion, and I respect their opinion, but MLB says 762 is the record, 73 is the record. Unless MLB changed something they're still there."

Judge turned down a contract extension from the Yankees at the beginning of the 2022 season, and there has been speculation that the Giants may court him in the off-season. The star grew up near San Francisco in Stockton, California, and was a fan of the Giants and Bonds in his youth.

Bonds is among those who would like to see Judge at the Giants' Oracle Park next year.

"I hope he signs here," Bonds said to Sportico. "Can it happen? I don't know. It depends on what the Yankee payroll is. But we would love to have him, I'll tell you that."

Bonds added that he'll be keeping an eye on Judge and rooting for him.

"He's got a long way to go. He's still at the beginning part of his career," he said. "I pray Aaron never gets hurt and has a long career. Right now, he's still young. But does his potential look great? Woo. Is he going to make a lot of money? Woo."

Newsweek reached out to Bonds and Judge for comment.