NEW YORK — Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black knew what he was talking about. Black played with all-time home run record holder Barry Bonds in San Francisco in 1993 and 1994.

“I saw Barry in his prime,” Black said.

He then turned the conversation to Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season on Sunday against Black’s club, giving the Yankees a 10-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.

“They probably don’t quite reach Bonds’ level of performance,” Black said, “but Ohtani and Judge are about the same level.”

Minutes later, on the other side of the stadium in the Yankees clubhouse, people were talking about Judge and Bonds again.

Bond’s record of 73 home runs in a season stands since 2001.

Could Judge surpass him at some point in his career?

“If there’s a player in the league who can do that,” said right fielder Juan Soto, “it’s him.”

When asked the same question, Giancarlo Stanton simply answered: “Yes.”

“I’m not going to put any limits on Aaron Judge,” manager Aaron Boone said.

After Sunday’s game, Judge was on pace to hit 63 home runs – one more than the American League single-season record he set in 2022. At the time, he broke the record of 61 set by Yankees great Roger Maris in 1961.

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Judge hit his 50th home run in the first inning against Rockies starter Austin Gombers and his 51st in the seventh inning as part of back-to-back home runs with Soto and Stanton against rookie Jeff Criswell, who was pitching in just his second MLB game and had never allowed a single major league home run before Sunday.

Judge is in top form, hitting seven home runs in his last six games, nine in his last ten games, and 19 in his last 36 games. He has also reached base in every one of his last 15 games.

“One of the best players in the game,” Black said.

In 2022, Judge hit his 51st home run on August 30. This year, he did it on August 25 and the Yankees had 31 games left after Sunday.

Judge is the fifth player in MLB history to hit at least 50 home runs in three seasons, joining Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez. He is also vying to become the third hitter, joining Sosa and McGwire, to record multiple seasons with at least 60 home runs. He would be the only player in that category who has not been linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

Judge hit just six home runs and had a .207 batting average through April, when he changed his swing and went on a run that hasn’t stopped since.

“It shows that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Soto said. “Everyone was worried about him in the beginning. I wasn’t worried about him, not one bit. When you know how great he is, and it’s crazy, as you say, to see a guy hit a home run day after day. It’s unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone hit that many home runs so consistently. It’s great to have him behind me.”

“It’s unbelievable,” Stanton said. “Like I said, he does something special every day, and you almost take it for granted how good he is, what a pillar he is to our offense and our team in general.”

This season, Judge has hit a home run every 9 at-bats. In Bonds’ historic season, he hit a home run every 6.5 at-bats. With just a month left, Judge would have to pick up the pace significantly if he wants to break the MLB single-season record.

“Times are changing,” said Stanton, who hit a major-record 59 home runs in his 2017 MVP season. “The game is changing. That’s such a sweeping number. But before that, it was 60. Then 70. It’s doable. At the pace he’s going, he’s definitely capable of doing it. It’s just a matter of putting it together.”

“Seven-three is such a huge number,” Boone said. “I don’t know. But then again, records are meant to be broken. That’s one of the great things about our sport.”

Judge’s 62 bombs in 2022 was only the seventh-highest total of all time. McGwire managed 70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999. Sosa managed 66 in 1998, 64 in 2001 and 63 in 1999.

But Judge was no one-hit pony. He also led MLB in OPS (1.201), RBIs (122) and on-base percentage (.465). His .333 batting average was second-best in the major leagues behind Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals at .347.

But it could be quite possible for Judge to break the AL record again. In 2022, he finished August with 51 home runs and hit 11 in September.

When jokingly asked to give a number on how many home runs Judge could hit, Boone said, “A lot.”

“I know that’s not necessarily his focus or his goal,” the manager said. “He’s trying to have the best batting opportunities and help us win the championship.”

Judge said he tries not to think about how many home runs he’s hit. His 308 home runs are the most of any player in the first 964 games of MLB history. Philadelphia Phillies great Ryan Howard is second with 274.

“I don’t think it really helps anybody if I go up there and try to hit a home run,” he said. “I got to this point by trying to be a good hitter and a good teammate. So that’s what I’m going to try to do. If I can do that, we’ll look up at the end of the year and I think the numbers will be where they’re supposed to be.”

Where should the numbers be?

“We’ll see,” he said.

(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)