Fresh off his MLB Home Run Derby win, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is one of MLB's brightest young superstars. So just who is Aaron Judge? Here's everything you need to know about the Yankees' newest superstar.
He's Massive
This is probably the first thing you'll notice about Judge. He's isn't the typically baseball player: he's built more like a basketball or football player. He checks in at 6-foot-7, 282-pounds, off-the-charts size for a baseball player. For reference, Mark McGwire was "only" 6-foot-5, 215-pounds. He wears a size-17 shoe as well.
Pre-MLB Life
Judge, who is just 25 years old, was born in 1992 a few hours east on San Francisco. The next day, he was adopted by Wayne and Patty Judge grew up in Linden, California, where both his parents were teachers. Devoutly Christian, the Judges passed that on to Aaron, as shown by his Twitter profile.
A three-sport star at Linden High School, Judge was an all-area selection in baseball, football and basketball. In football, he set single-season records for 969 receiving yards (on 54 catches) and 17 touchdowns as a tight end. His 21 career TD catches was also a school record. On the basketball court, he averaged 18.2 points and 12.8 rebounds as a center in 2009-10.
But Judge elected to head to Fresno State to play baseball. In the process, he passed on jumping right to the MLB when the Oakland A's took him in the 31st round.
Early Yankees Career
The Yankees drafted him with the No. 32 overall pick in the MLB Draft, striking gold in the process. After lighting up Single-A ball, Judge was at Triple-A by 2015. He wasn't always hitting for average, but the power was clearly there. In 2016, he was invited to spring training and that's where he ended up with the No. 99.
"They gave it to me in spring training (2016) and it just kind of stuck with me a little bit," Judge said. "(No. 99 has) grown on me a little bit. It's a good number."
Judge wanted to wear No. 35, but pitcher Michael Pineda already wears Judge's favorite number. But, Judge appears set on continuing to wear 99. Later in 2016, Judge got the call up to the show. It didn't go well. In 27 games, Judge hit just .179 with four homers, nine walks and 42 strikeouts.
The Yankees Nearly Traded Him
New York has a budding young superstar in Judge, but even they weren't sure he was going to be this good. That's why they at least considered dealing Judge away to the Atlanta Braves.
Heyward/simmons/carpenter/bj upton/c Johnson for severino/judge/banuelos/clarkin/sanchez said floated. Nyy didnt pull trigger
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 8, 2016
Still insane to think Yankees talked about dealing Judge, Sanchez, Severino, 2 others to Braves for J-Hey, Simmons, Upton, Johnson, D-Carp.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 11, 2017
Instead, the Yankees kept Judge (and the other big names mentioned in that trade) and are much better now because of it. Judge's name had popped up in several other rumors, but that was the closest New York came to shopping him.
2017 And Beyond
Judge tweaked his batting stance after the bad showing in 2016 and it's done wonders. At the all-star break, Judge is hitting .329 with 30 homers and 66 RBIs. He's also walked 61 times against 109 strikeouts. He leads the majors in homers and leads the MLB in Wins Above Replacement. Still just 25, Judge could even get better as he ages. And the best news for the Yankees is that Judge is making just $545K this year. He's not a free agent until 2023 and isn't even eligible for arbitration until 2020. That's great news for those sitting in the "Judge's Chambers," because Judge and his fanbase aren't leaving New York anytime soon
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