NFL
By Billy Lewis:
Aaron Judge had his official press conference Wednesday morning after re-signing with the New York Yankees. He’s been the unofficial Captain of the Yankees for the past few seasons and at the press conference, Hal Steinbrenner made it official.
The Yankees have named Aaron Judge the 16th Captain in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/F8uwyIOF3k
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) December 21, 2022
When the press conference started, Derek Jeter was seated at the table with Judge, making the Captain announcement feel imminent. Also at the press conference was another former Captain, Willie Randolph. Sure enough, almost as soon as Steinbrenner took the podium, he named Judge the first Captain since Jeter retired in 2014.
Getting named Captain puts Judge in some great company. He joins the likes of Jeter, Randolph, Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson, and Lou Gehrig just to name a few.
Judge came up to the Yankees in 2016. In his debut, he batted after Tyler Austin and they famously hit back-to-back home runs in their first big league at-bats. Austin’s was a wall scraper down the right field line, while Judge gave fans an early look at his prodigious power.
There were still questions surrounding the Yankee right fielder entering 2017 because in his limited time in 2016 Judge struck out 42 times in 84 at-bats. Of course, Judge’s 2017 season showed he was here to stay.
He hit a then-rookie record, 52 home runs, and ran away with the Rookie of the Year Award. 2022 probably should have been his second MVP award, but Houston’s Jose Altuve won the 2017 MVP with Judge finishing second.
Some may think being named Captain of the New York Yankees might bring pressure on any individual, but Judge proved in 2022 he handles pressure well. He now famously rejected the Yankee’s contract extension prior to the beginning of the 2022 season and has now parlayed that into a 9-year $360 million contract.
After about a month as a free agent, Judge once again officially became a Yankee. Fans should be excited to watch the new Yankee Captain for the next decade. Starting in 2023 Judge will look to be the first Captain to bring a title back to the Bronx since Jeter in 2009.
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