After a winter of negotiating, Aaron Judge will return to the New York Yankees on a nine-year contract. After an MVP season where he broke the American League record for home runs with 62, the star player returned to the team that drafted him, and has made him the face of the franchise. On Dec. 21, the Yankees held a press conference to introduce Judge, and make the signing official.
Normally, a winter morning press conference is uneventful, and doesn’t carry much excitement to it. However, Judge isn’t an ordinary player and this offseason has been a wild one, to say the least. A surplus of free agents have signed long-term deals and Judge looked like he would sign elsewhere as the San Francisco Giants were in heavy pursuit of him. Interestingly, the recent press conference unveiled how far the rumors were from the truth.
Judge Always Wanted to be a Yankee
Judge was asked where he was when the news broke, first of the Giants trying to sign him and then when he signed with the Yankees. In an almost humorous way, he mentioned that he was on a plane and missed the speculation. It almost came as a surprise to him when he started receiving texts and messages about how he will be missed in New York. In his mind, he wasn’t going anywhere.
When asked if he could see himself in another uniform, it made him hesitate. Judge talked about how that made the free agent process difficult. He admitted that he couldn’t picture himself in another uniform other than the pinstripes, and continuing the legacy of the great Yankees before him.
"We came to the decision in our heart which is we belong in New York. We belong in this city. There's a lot of unfinished business here." – Aaron Judge on talking to other teams in free agency. pic.twitter.com/hVTj38HzqR
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 21, 2022
Judge could have returned to his hometown, and played for the Giants. Likewise, he could have gone to the highest bidder in the free agency sweepstakes. At the end of the day, Judge wanted to be a Yankee for life. This is the team that drafted and developed him, making him one of the best players in baseball. The relationship might have looked severed ahead of the 2022 season when a contract extension fell through. Moreover, the breakout year and bet on himself could have indicated that he was ready to walk off.
The bottom line is that Judge wanted to play with the Yankees, and possibly see his plaque in Monument Park someday. The franchise hasn’t won a World Series title since 2009, but the legacies of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and the many legends that helped the team win 27 World Series titles carry a lot of weight. Judge knows this and wants to be that next great and more importantly, lead the team to that next championship.
Cashman & Boone’s Sigh of Relief
Every year, General Manager Brian Cashman is on the hot seat. The Yankees are in one of the longest title droughts in their franchise history, and frustration often leads to questions about his job security. Interestingly, he hasn’t had a losing season in his tenure with the Yankees. Similarly, Cashman, who signed a contract extension this winter, is the longest-serving general manager in baseball, and in the history of the Yankees.
This winter, the Yankees saw his excellence at full display. The top priority was to re-sign Judge and despite the pressure and speculation of him signing elsewhere, he managed to bring back the star. In addition, Cashman upped the ante in the offseason by acquiring one of the best pitchers available in free agency, Carlos Rodon, rounding out an already great starting rotation. Cashman not only handled the pressure, but once again reminded everyone why he’s one of the best executives in baseball.
Aaron Boone, who like Cashman, is also on the hot seat every season as the manager summed up the process best. He said the process was like “Losing your cell phone, your keys, your wallet, and your iPad, gone. And the next morning, someone knocks on the door and asks ‘were you looking for this?'” The remarks received good laughs but spoke to every fan that went through the process of losing Judge and seeing him signed the next day. It was a sign of relief for a team that couldn’t afford to lose their most important player.
Aaron Judge Named Captain
An interesting development in the press conference was owner Hal Steinbrenner’s remarks to welcome Aaron Judge back to the Bronx. As he introduced Judge, he made him the captain of the Yankees, something fans speculated could happen, but is now official. Last season, when the team was struggling, the leader on the roster were Judge who helped guide them to the postseason. Fittingly, he will be named the 16th captain in Yankees history.
The captain in the Yankees organization has more meaning than it typically would in other organizations. Lou Gehrig was the Yankees’ captain from 1935 until 1939. He led the team to four World Series titles in those years. After his career was tragically cut short because of ALS, there was a consideration of retiring the captaincy with Gehrig. He was a first-class person worthy of being the last captain. After a 37-year absence, George Steinbrenner brought back the captaincy and gave it to Thurman Munson. Munson helped led the team to two titles in three years before his career ended.
The Yankees never retired the captain title. The recent captain was Derek Jeter, who wasn’t given the title during the team’s four-title run. He did, however, help lead them to the World Series title in 2009. There was speculation about whether Jeter would be the final captain.
After an eight-year void, the captaincy is back. Aaron Judge is not only the face of the franchise but the leader as well. Judge is carrying on a significant legacy in the Yankees organization, and cementing his status as an All-Time great.
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