During the 2017 season, Aaron Judge played his first full league season with the New York Yankees. Last season, he played in only 27 games and didn’t do much. But in 2017, he showed the world that he is an elite.
People were skeptical about how much he could do in the league as a 6-foot-7 outfielder, but he proved them wrong. He started 155 games, batted .284/.422/.627, led the National League with 52 home runs, and won Rookie of the Year with 114 RBIs.
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Not only was Judge elite on the field, he was elite in the clubhouse and with the fans. Joe Girardi, the Yankees manager at the time, compared Judge’s personality to that of Derek Jeter, via Sports Illustrated’s Ken Rosenthal.
“To me, he’s a little bit like Jeter. He’s always smiling. He loves playing the game. He always thinks he’s trying to do the right thing on the field and off the field,” Girardi said. said.
This is quite a comparison, but the judges earned it in the eyes of the manager. He was a role model and someone younger generations could look up to, just like Jeter did during his playing days.
Aaron Judge didn’t sell very well until the Yankees drafted him.
Going into the draft, not many people were evaluating Aaron Judge’s abilities. They weren’t sure if he was a player who could succeed in this league.
“The good analysis was off the charts. What you see now, the strength. What he did was very unique. But what he didn’t do (contact) was always a red flag. That’s a concern for high school students. ‘But if it’s still an issue in three years of college, it can always be an issue,” said Billy Beane, former Athletics executive vice president of baseball operations.
This was the reason he fell in the draft. The Yankees selected him with the 32nd overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, but other teams are probably getting desperate by now.
Judge has become one of the faces of the sport over the years. He was a core player for the Bronx Bombers and was integral to their success. The only thing missing from his shelf is a World Series ring.
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Editing: Jared “Bloomy” Bloom
