On opening day, we didn’t know how much the New York Yankees would pay Aaron Judge this year. We knew he had turned down a $213.5 million extension offer, leaving open the possibility that the 2022 season would be his last in the Bronx. We knew he would be closely watched, a barely precedented superstar playing out a contract year as the face of the game’s most storied franchise. He didn’t homer in that first game, but by the time the sides settled on a $19 million salary on June 24, he had gone deep 27 times.
Aaron Judge's epic run to 62 homers transcended contract year tension. Can the Yankees really let history go?
