Aaron Judge

Judge hit his first career home run over the Green Monster on September 8. With this home run, the 2019 Yankees set a new franchise record for most home runs in a single season.

In 2019, he batted .272/.381/.540, with 27 home runs and 55 RBIs in 378 at bats. Balls he hit had the highest exit velocity on average of those hit by all major leaguers, at 95.9 mph. As a fielder, he led the league in defensive run saved as a right fielder (19 runs saved, tied with Cody Bellinger, but given higher placing due to effciency by playing in less innings (775.1 vs. 911.1)). This earned him the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for his position in right field.

The Yankees named Judge their Opening Day right fielder against the Tampa Bay Rays. He had his first multi-home run game on April 28 against the Baltimore Orioles to help the Yankees win 14–11, coming back from a 9–1 deficit. One of the home runs had a measured exit velocity of 119.4 miles per hour (192.2 km/h), the fastest exit velocity for a home run measured by Statcast since it was adopted in 2015. This record would later be broken by teammate Giancarlo Stanton on August 9, 2018, when Stanton launched a home run with an exit velocity of 121.7 miles per hour (195.9 km/h). Judge ended the month of April with 10 home runs, tying the rookie record set by José Abreu and Trevor Story. He was named the American League's (AL) Rookie of the Month for April. In April, he had a .303 batting average, 10 home runs, 20 RBIs, and a .411 OBP in 22 games.

Batting .277 with 25 home runs and 58 RBIs, Judge was named a starting outfielder for the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

The Yankees debuted a cheering section in the right-field seats of Yankee Stadium on May 22, 2017. Called "The Judge's Chambers", the section spans three rows in section 104 and contains 18 seats. Fans are chosen by the team to sit there and are outfitted with black robes, wigs, and foam gavels. In a game against the Oakland Athletics on May 28, Judge hit his first career grand slam. Judge was named AL Rookie of the Month once again for May. In May, he had a .347 batting average, seven home runs, 17 RBIs, and a .441 OBP in 26 games.

On June 10, Judge hit a home run that had an exit velocity of 121.1 miles per hour (194.9 km/h), again setting a new record for the hardest measured by Statcast. The following day, Judge went 4-for-4 with two home runs; one of the home runs traveled 495 feet (151 m), making it the longest home run hit in the 2017 season. On June 12, Judge was named the AL Player of the Week. His week ended with him leading the AL in all three Triple Crown categories. Judge was named the AL Player of the Month for the month of June, batting .337 with 10 home runs, 25 RBIs and a .481 OBP. His performance in the month of June also earned him his third consecutive AL Rookie of the Month award, the longest streak since Mike Trout won four in a row in 2012. Judge had a 32-game on-base streak, including reaching base in every game in the month of June. On July 2, Judge was voted as a starting outfielder to the 2017 MLB All-Star Game, receiving 4,488,702 votes, the most of any player in the AL.

Judge won the 2017 Home Run Derby, besting Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sanó 11–10 in the final round to become the first rookie to win the Derby outright. After his performance, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred stated that Judge is a player "who can become the face of the game." On July 21, Judge hit a home run that almost travelled out of Safeco Field. The ball was hit so hard that Statcast could not measure the details on the home run.

Judge finished the 2017 season with a .284 batting average, 52 home runs, and 114 RBIs. He led the American League in home runs, runs scored (128), and walks (a major-league rookie record 127). He ranked second in the league in RBIs. He also struck out an MLB-leading 208 times, breaking the Yankees record previously set by Curtis Granderson in 2012 and a rookie record previously set by Kris Bryant in 2015.

End-of-season awards for Judge included selection as an outfielder on Baseball America's All-MLB Team, the Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Rookie, and a Silver Slugger Award. Judge was unanimously voted as the American League Rookie of the Year. He went on to finish second in the voting for the 2017 American League Most Valuable Player Award to José Altuve, receiving two first-place votes, 27 second-place votes and one third-place vote.

Judge is a Christian and has posted about his faith on his Twitter account. He keeps a note on his phone that reads ".179", his batting average with the Yankees in 2016, and looks at it daily as a source of motivation. Judge appeared on the cover of the edition of May 15, 2017 of Sports Illustrated. On May 15, 2017, he appeared on an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he posed undercover to ask Yankee fans questions about himself. On November 6, 2017, it was revealed that Judge would be the cover athlete for MLB The Show 18, as well as an endorsement deal with Pepsi. For the 2018 season, Judge signed an endorsement deal with Adidas, finishing his contract with Under Armour he had since 2014. Judge has earned praise for his humble personality and willingness to be a team player.

Judge made his MLB debut on August 13, 2016, starting in right field against the Tampa Bay Rays. In his first MLB at-bat, Judge hit a home run off Matt Andriese; the previous batter, Tyler Austin, also making his MLB debut, had done the same. This marked the first time that two teammates had hit home runs in their first MLB career at bats in the same game. Judge also hit a home run in his second MLB game, becoming the second Yankees player (after Joe Lefebvre in 1980) to homer in each of his first two MLB games. Judge's debut season, in which he batted .179 and struck out 42 times in 84 at-bats (95 plate appearances), ended prematurely when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a grade two right oblique strain on September 13, 2016 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Judge has worn the unusual uniform number of 99 since it was given to him during 2016 spring training (higher numbers are often given to young players who are not expected to make the regular-season team). Judge has stated he would prefer either No. 44 (retired by the Yankees to honor Reggie Jackson) or No. 35 but is not sure whether he would switch if the latter two were to become available.

The Yankees invited Judge to spring training as a non-roster player in 2015. Judge began the 2015 season with the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League. After Judge batted .284/.350/.510 (5th in the league) with 12 home runs (tied for 9th) in 63 games for Trenton, the Yankees promoted Judge to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League in June. He was chosen to represent the Yankees at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game. The Yankees decided not to include Judge in their September call-ups. Judge batted .224/.308/.373 with eight home runs in 61 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees invited Judge to spring training in 2016, and he began the season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Judge was named to the International League All-Star Team in 2016, but did not play in the 2016 Triple-A All-Star Game after he spent a month on the disabled list due to a knee sprain. In 93 games for the RailRiders, Judge batted .270/.366/.489 with 19 home runs (4th in the league), 62 runs (tied for 8th), and 65 RBIs (tied for 7th).

He made his professional debut with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2014. He had a .333 batting average (6th in the league), .428 on-base percentage (OBP; 3rd), .530 slugging percentage (SLG; 6th), and hit nine home runs with 45 RBIs in 65 games for Charleston. The Yankees promoted him to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League during the season, where he hit .283 with a .411 OBP (2nd in the league), .442 SLG, eight home runs, and 33 RBIs in 66 games for Tampa.

Judge, who played college baseball for the Fresno State Bulldogs, was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft. After making his MLB debut in 2016 and hitting a home run in his first MLB career at bat, Judge went on to have a record-breaking rookie season in 2017. He was named an All-Star and won the Home Run Derby, becoming the first MLB rookie to do so. Judge ended the season with 52 home runs, breaking Mark McGwire's MLB rookie record of 49 and the Yankees' full-season rookie record of 29 (previously held by Joe DiMaggio). He won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month Awards for April, May, June and September, as well as the AL's Player of the Month Award for June and September.

The Yankees drafted Judge in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft with the 32nd overall selection, a pick the team received as compensation after losing Nick Swisher in free agency. Judge signed with the Yankees and received a $1.8 million signing bonus. He tore a quadriceps femoris muscle while participating in a base running drill, which kept him out of the 2013 season.

With the Yankees finishing the year with a 91–71 record, the team clinched a wild card spot. During the AL Wild Card game against the Minnesota Twins, Judge hit his first career postseason home run en route to an 8-4 Yankees victory. In Game 3 of the ALDS, Judge robbed Francisco Lindor of a home run, preserving the tie game. Judge struck out 16 times in the series, setting an ALDS record. After the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS, Judge hit three home runs for the Yankees in the ALCS. He also robbed Yulieski Gurriel of a potential home run in the Yankees' Game 7 ALCS loss to the Houston Astros. He finished with 27 strikeouts in the entire postseason, a major league record (this record would be broken by Cody Bellinger in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series just 11 days later).

MLB along with the MLB Players Association, created Players Weekend to let players 'express themselves while connecting with their past in youth baseball'. From August 25–27, 2017, players wore alternate team jerseys inspired by youth league designs. They also had the option to replace their last names with their nicknames on their jersey nameplates, and the vast majority of players did so. Judge chose the nickname "All Rise" (given to him by former teammate Todd Frazier) to be worn on the back of his jersey nameplate. For the 2018 Players Weekend, Judge chose to just have his last name on the back of his jersey. During the 2019 event, Judge chose his own nickname, "BAJ", an abbreviation of "Big Aaron Judge".

Various colleges recruited Judge to play tight end in football, including Notre Dame, Stanford, and UCLA, but he preferred baseball. The Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round of the 2010 MLB draft, but he opted to enroll at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) to play for the Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). In 2011, Judge was part of a Fresno State team that shared the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season title, won the WAC Tournament, and qualified for the 2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Louisville Slugger named him a Freshman All-American. He won the 2012 TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby. He played collegiate summer baseball for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2012. In his junior year, Judge led the Bulldogs in home runs, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). Judge was named to the all-conference team in all three of his seasons for the Bulldogs—in the WAC in his first two seasons, and the Mountain West Conference (MW) as a junior (the Bulldogs joined the MW in July 2012, between his sophomore and junior seasons).

Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Judge was unanimously selected as the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017 and finished second for AL Most Valuable Player.

Judge broke Joe DiMaggio's record for most home runs hit by a Yankees rookie with his 30th on July 7. He became the second rookie to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break (the first was Mark McGwire in 1987) and the first Yankee to do so since Alex Rodriguez in 2007. Before the All-Star break, Judge hit .329 with 30 home runs and 66 RBIs.

On September 4, Judge became the first AL rookie to record 100 walks in a single season since Al Rosen (1950), and the first player in MLB to do it since Jim Gilliam (1953). During a game on September 10, Judge received his 107th walk, the most walks by a rookie in a season since Ted Williams in 1939. During the same game, he also became the second rookie in MLB history to hit 40 home runs in a season since McGwire (1987). He joined Babe Ruth (1920), Lou Gehrig (1927), Joe DiMaggio (1937) and Mickey Mantle (1956) as the only Yankees to hit 40 home runs in a season at age 25 or younger.

On July 27, Judge lost a portion of his front left tooth during a celebration circle after Brett Gardner hit a walk-off home run. On August 16, Judge hit a 457-foot home run at Citi Field that reached the third deck; he also broke a record for position players by striking out in a 33rd consecutive game. On August 20, Judge tied pitcher Bill Stoneman's streak of striking out in 37 consecutive games.

On August 27, Judge hit his 17th home run of the season and 100th home run of his career, a 462-foot blast against the Seattle Mariners. Coming in his 371st game, it made him the third-fastest MLB player to hit 100 home runs.

On September 25, Judge hit his 49th and 50th home runs, tying and surpassing Mark McGwire's single season rookie home run record. On September 30, Judge hit his 52nd home run of the season and his 33rd at Yankee Stadium, surpassing Babe Ruth's single-season record (set in 1921) for most home runs hit by a Yankees player at his home ballpark. After the conclusion of September, Judge won Player of the Month for the second time and Rookie of the Month for the fourth time.