Bernie Williams Praises Aaron Judge's Home Run Feat for Being 'Without Any Speculation of Being Tainted'

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Bernie Williams is singing his praises for Aaron Judge.

The former New York Yankees player, 54, recently chatted with PEOPLE about working with the One Liver to Love initiative to raise awareness about liver cancer, and also talked up Judge's historic home run feat this season.

On Oct. 4, Judge, 30, surpassed Roger Maris' record for home runs in an American League single season when he hit his 62nd into the left field seats at the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Field.

The only MLB players who have hit more homers in a season were Sammy Sosa (66), Mark McGuire (70) and Barry Bonds (73) — though baseball fans often place an asterisk on their successes as they were linked to allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs.

"That was just incredible," Williams tells PEOPLE exclusively of Judge's triumph. "I like the fact that it was done without any speculation of being tainted or anything like that. He's just kind of doing it straightforward, just strictly hitting."

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Williams says that he applauds how Judge has handled his accomplishment, telling PEOPLE, "I think he is doing a great job, kind of diffusing that attention that he's getting and trying to make it about the team."

"Essentially, that's the sign of a true champion, I think," he continues. "He's as important as the guy next to him, and I think having this team-oriented attitude is really helping him a lot, cementing his legacy as just a great Yankee."

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Williams also says he hopes that Judge will continue to play with his former team, though he admits that his options are open when he becomes a free agent later this year.

"I think he probably played his cards as good as anybody could play his cards in a situation like that. He said, 'I'm not going to deal with any contract negotiations. I'm just going to let my bat on my glove and my playing speak for itself,' " Williams says.

"He took a huge gamble because he obviously is risking injury and risking a subpar year, but he said, 'I'm just going to put all my eggs in this basket, and I'm just going to roll with it.' And I'm so glad that it turned out great for him," he adds. "It'll put him in a great position to have a great contract in the subsequent years."