– and the Yankees – in ‘23
Aaron Judge had a season for the ages in 2022, his 62 home runs surpassing Roger Maris’ American League mark of 61 in 1961. And that was followed by a contract to match.
No, the New York Yankees weren’t about to let their superstar centre fielder walk to the San Francisco Giants or anywhere else in free agency, so they secured him through his age 39 season with a nine-year, $360 million contract.
The 2022 AL MVP has been a stalwart since arriving full time at Yankee Stadium in 2017, hitting a then-rookie record of 52 homers to go with 114 RBIs, a .284 average, a .422 on-base percentage and an OPS of 1.049. Rookie of the Year honours would follow, to go along with his first Silver Slugger Award and All-Star appearance.
But that would pale in comparison to his 2022 campaign in which his 62 homers, league-leading 131 RBI, .311 average, .425 on-base percentage and 1.111 OPS would put him in the record books alongside Maris, Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle as an alltime Yankee great.
Now it’s 2023 and as is usually the case in the Bronx, the focus is on winning championships. As the team’s captain, Judge will continue to lead by example and push the team toward its ultimate goal of being the last team standing in October/November.
Judge and the Yankees can be seen in action Friday, March 24, when they host the Minnesota Twins in an afternoon game airing live on Sportsnet.
Full name: Aaron James Judge Birth date: April 26, 1992 Birthplace: Linden, Calif. Height/weight: 6 feet, 7 inches/282 pounds
Teams: New York Yankees (2016-present)
Position: Centre fielder Bats/throws: Right/right No.: 99 Honours and achievements: Four-time All-Star; 2017 Rookie of the Year; Silver Slugger Award (2017, 2021, 2022); American League home run leader (2017, 2022); record holder for most walks (127) in a rookie campaign; his 52 homers in ’17 an AL rookie record