Roger Maris Jr. believes Yankees reclaiming 2023 WS title will take pressure off Aaron Judge to set another HR record

New York Yankees star man Aaron Judge is coming off the best season of his career. He bagged his first American League MVP award and broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record.

The New York Yankees have been one of the most successful franchises in history, with 27 World Series championships to their name. However, the team has not won a championship since 2009. This has placed a significant amount of pressure on their star players, especially Aaron Judge, to deliver on the field.

Judge has been a dominant force in the Yankees lineup since making his debut in 2016. He has smashed numerous home runs and won several accolades, including American League Rookie of the Year and two Home Run Derby titles. In 2017, Judge broke the rookie home run record, hitting 52 and setting a new standard for young players in the league.

Speaking to the NY Post's Dan Martin, Roger Maris Jr. said that he thinks setting a new record again is unlikely. However, he thinks the Yankees winning can ease the burden of expectation that Judge is going to feel:

“Dad realized he was never gonna do what he did in 1961 again. That year was an anomaly. I think Aaron realizes that, too. It’s not that he’s not capable of doing it, but you have to understand it was an amazing year and you can’t go to the park expecting to hit home runs.

"If he does what he’s been doing, plays winning baseball and they win, it doesn’t matter if he hits 20 home runs, no one is going to care. It’s only when you don’t win. He needs to focus on winning a championship.

“Where Judge and dad are similar is in how they approach the game. Dad always wanted to be the best teammate he could be to help the team win... It was more about making winning plays. He knew if he did well, the team probably would, too, and that takes pressure off you. For Judge, it’s the same thing.”

Aaron Judge will aim for championship glory with the Yankees

Since joining the New York Yankees in 2016, Aaron Judge has picked up all the individual trophies in Major League Baseball that are there to win. But the World Series title has thus far evaded him, as well as the Yankees, who last won it in 2009.

The New York Yankees reclaiming the 2023 World Series title would take the pressure off Aaron Judge to set another home run record. This would allow Judge and the rest of the team to focus on winning as a team, rather than having to carry the burden of individual performance expectations.

Fans and the media would be able to celebrate the team’s success and recognize them as champions, rather than scrutinizing their individual statistics.