Meet the 2019 Yankees: Aaron Judge

The 2019 Yankees, much like the 2018 and 2017 versions, will live and die by the towering presence in right field named Aaron Judge. This is my opinion only, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not going to be the only person who really thinks so. Judge is a beast with the bat and a stellar defender with a rocket for an arm out in right field, but he is also the heart and soul of the team. As Judge goes, the team goes, so let’s get reacquainted with the man that will tow the line for the New York Yankees all season long here in 2019. Mr. Aaron Judge everybody.

Aaron Judge, 26-years old, is a right-handed hitting and throwing right fielder for the New York Yankees. While in the minor leagues Judge was used as a center fielder and left fielder as well, showing a familiarity with all three outfield positions throughout his MLB and professional career. Judge is going to strike out a lot, but he is also going to hit home runs a lot and drive in runs a lot while hitting around the .280 mark, if history is any indicator of his future.

Aaron James Judge was born on April 26, 1992 in Linden, California where he was adopted the day after he was born by Patty and Wayne Judge. Both of Aaron’s parents were school teachers. Judge attended Lindgren High School where he was a three-sport star. Judge was a pitcher and a first baseman for the baseball team, a wide receiver for the football team, and was a center for the basketball team. Judge excelled at all three sports, but he especially caught the eye of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Stanford Cardinals in college football, both wanted Judge to play tight end, as well as the Oakland Athletics and Fresno State University. The Oakland Athletics selected Judge in the 31^st round of the 2010 MLB First Year Players Draft, but instead Judge opted to go to college and play baseball for the Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team. Judge slugged his way to a WAC tournament title and College Baseball Home Run Derby, among other accolades, through the 2013 season before the New York Yankees drafted the right fielder in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft, 32^nd overall. Judge signed with the Yankees for $1.8 million and began his professional career with the club in 2014.

By 2015, the Yankees invited Judge to the spring training camp and also had their right fielder at the highest minor league level of Triple-A. Judge represented the Yankees in the 2015 All-Star Futures Game, but the team kept him out of their batch of September call ups due to a roster crunch. Judge was chosen as a 2016 Triple-A All Star but opted not to play in the game after spraining his knee earlier in the season. Judge, instead, got healthy and took the time off, hoping for a call up to the Major League level, a call that would come on August 13, 2016. Judge made his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays that day and hit a home run in his first at-bat, just one at-bat after Tyler Austin, also making his MLB debut, also hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat. This was the first time a pair of teammates hit home runs in their first career at-bats in the same game. Judge was named the Yankees Opening Day starting right fielder for the 2017 season, and the beginning of a special season took off almost immediately.

The Yankees debuted a cheering section in the right field seats in 2017 called “The Judge’s Chambers” on May 22 after Judge won AL Rookie of the Month in April. Judge won the award again during the month of May en route to being voted as the starting right fielder for the American League in the 2017 All-Star Game. Judge broke the Yankees rookie record for most home runs in a season when he hit his 30^th home run, passing Joe DiMaggio and became just the second rookie ever, the first being Mark McGwire, to have 30 home runs before the All-Star break. Judge won the 2017 Home Run Derby and even passed McGwire for the most home runs by a rookie in a single season when he hit his 49^th and 50^th home runs on September 25. Judge led the Yankees to the AL Wild Card, an eventual win over the Minnesota Twins, and within one game of the 2017 World Series before ultimately falling to the Houston Astros in the seventh game of the ALCS. Judge was unanimously voted as the American League Rookie of the Year in 2017 and also finished 2^nd in the AL MVP Award vote behind Houston’s Jose Altuve.

Judge was back to prove that there wouldn’t be a sophomore slump, and he did just that in 2018 for the New York Yankees. Judge was once again a starting outfielder in the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, although the Yankees right fielder chose to skip the Home Run Derby this season. Judge wondered if a shoulder injury that required surgery the previous offseason was caused by participating in the 2017 Derby but skipping the event would not keep Judge off the disabled list in 2018. Judge was struck on the wrist by Kansas City Royals starter Jakob Junis, causing Judge to miss two months with the injury. Judge led the Yankees past the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 AL Wild Card Game, but the Yankees fell just short in the ALDS against the eventual World Series champion Boston Red Sox, ending their season prematurely.

Here are a few of the New York Yankees and general MLB records that Judge already holds in his young career, shout out to Wikipedia for these:

New York Yankees franchise records[edit]

• Most home runs in a season hit at home: 33 (Babe Ruth held the record with 32).
• Most home runs in a season by a rookie: 52 (Joe DiMaggio held the record with 29)^[95]
• First right-handed hitter in Yankees history with at least 100 RBIs, 100 runs scored and 100 walks in a single season
• Fifth player in franchise history to start an All-Star Game in the first two seasons. (Following Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Lefty Gomez.
• Most home runs (4) in the first seven home playoff games, tying Reggie Jackson (1977–78).

MLB records[edit]

• Most home runs by a rookie, 52 (Mark McGwire held record with 49)^[96]
• Measured exit velocity of 121.1 miles per hour (194.9 km/h), again setting a new record for the hardest ever measured by Statcast. (June 10, 2017)^[97]
• Holds the MLB record for striking out in 37 consecutive games. (2017)^[98]
• Holds the MLB record for most strikeouts by a rookie with 208.
• Holds the MLB record for most walks by a rookie with 127.
• First rookie in MLB history with at least 45 home runs, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored.^[99]
• Most golden sombreros in postseason play since 1903.^[100]
• Fastest to reach 60 home runs (197 games)^[101]

Will Judge add any this year in 2019? I surely think so, but you will just have to stay tuned to find out. All Rise, because here comes the Judge.

Hello… and Good Friday to You All

Good morning everyone, and a Good Friday to all if you celebrate. If not, then just Happy Friday to you as we inch towards the weekend. Good Friday, according to Wikipedia, is a Christian holiday that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. Jesus died on Good Friday and was reborn on Easter Sunday. Whether you believe or not, celebrate the day or not, or whatever you choose to do just make sure it is a great day regardless. It is another day with Yankees baseball, and it’s a Friday, so how could it not be? Right?

Have a great day everyone. Especially you. I hope you have an amazing Friday, because you deserve it. You deserve the world and everything in it, and I won’t sleep until you have it all. I love you. My rock. My Kari. My baby.

Have a great day everyone!

Most Popular Article of the Week: 40 facts about 40 Yankees

Featuring Bryan Van Dusen's article seen HERE:

"Wikipedia? Never heard of it."

I haven't been inspired to write much of anything lately, which unfortunately has led to Daniel having to carry the bulk of the load around here. Trust me, I've been looking out for something to spark that desire to write, but since the Yankees have had an incredibly quiet offseason things have been tough.

However, after reading something interesting about one of the current Yankees, I decided to do some research and try to find something about each player on the Yankees' 40-man roster that you may not have known.

If you did know something here please don't yell at me and say I didn't do enough research. It was really hard to find at least something about a few players, so cut me some slack.

So here we go with 40 facts about 40 Yankees...

Johnny Barbato - attended Felix Varela High School in Miami, the same school former Glee star Blake Jenner went to.

Dellin Betances - sat with the Bleacher Creatures during David Wells' perfect game in 1998.

Vicente Campos - he is the cousin of former MLB pitcher Kelvim Escobar and Kansas City Royals' shortstop Alcides Escobar.

Luis Cessa - during an interview with David Conde of MetsMinors.net, Cessa listed Andy Pettitte as one of his favorite players growing up.

Aroldis Chapman - while many start playing organized baseball around age 7, Aroldis didn't do so until he was 15.

Nathan Eovaldi - in his MLB debut, starting for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Nathan gave up 4 hits in 5 innings... two to opposing starter Joe Saunders.

Nick Goody - while pitching at Louisiana State University, Nick took the closer's role from current teammate Nick Rumbelow.

Jacob Lindgren - while attending Mississippi State University Jacob was part of the rap group "Bench Mobb", where he went by the name "Big Chunk".

Andrew Miller - attended Buchholz High School in Gainesville, FL, which was also attended by former NBA player Vernon Maxwell, as well as former NFL players Ivy Joe Hunter, Lamar Thomas, Billy Latsko, and Doug Johnson.

Bryan Mitchell - during the 2009 MLB Amateur draft many teams passed on drafting Mitchell due to him having committed to The University of North Carolina. However, Bryan was drafted by the Yankees and decided not to enroll in UNC after all.

Ivan Nova - The Boston Red Sox tried to sign Ivan , however in an interview with ESPN The Magazine, Nova was quoted as saying "I really didn't want to sign with Boston. My father and I were both Yankee fans."

Tyler Olson - if the Yankees groundskeepers ever need help, then they can look to Tyler. While at Gonzaga, Olson spent a summer working alongside the baseball team's groundskeeper.

James Pazos - while it's only been 5 innings, Pazos has yet to give up an extra-base hit.

Brandon Pinder - in Pinder's 1st appearance in MLB he got out of the inning thanks to a rare bunt pop-up, where Alejandro De Aza was doubled off 3rd after hitting a triple in the at bat before.

Michael Pineda - while he likes to conduct interviews in English, he sometimes has to get help from Dellin Betances.

Nick Rumbelow - while some aspiring professional athletes would concentrate one that one sport during high school, Nick was an outside linebacker/punter in football and point guard in basketball.

CC Sabathia - actually signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Hawaii, but decided to go pro in baseball instead.

Luis Severino - grew up a Yankees fan, and particularly Robinson Cano.

Chasen Shreve - was a teammate of Bryce Harper in college, and maybe will be a teammate of his again in a couple years?

Masahiro Tanaka - I've mentioned in the past that 'Hiro is a huge fan of Momoiro Clover Z, a female musical group from Japan, and their songs are played while he warms up. But Tanaka also uses a 5-colored glove for practicing, and wears a glove with a clover leaf during games... both of which pay homage to the same music group.

Kirby Yates - although drafted by the Red Sox in 2005, Kirby decided to attend college at Yavapai College instead. Good call, Kirby!

Brian McCann - Donny Osmond, a favorite of both Brian and his wife Ashley, performed at their wedding.

Austin Romine - his father, Kevin, spent seven years with the Boston Red Sox. Thankfully Austin didn't take after his dad.

Gary Sanchez - he follows Manny Ramirez on Twitter. Hopefully it's his way of learning what not to do.

Greg Bird - Greg was set to play ball for the University of Arkansas but decided to join the Yankees instead. Good call, Greg! You don't want to be in the SEC.

Starlin Castro - As a Cub Starlin hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat. The Yankees have had three guys do that... John Miller in 1966, Marcus Thames in 2002, and Andy Phillips in 2004.

Didi Gregorius - His father, Johannes, pitched for the Amsterdam Pirates. His mother, Sherista, played softball for the Dutch national team. His older brother, Johannes Jr., played in Honkbal Hoofdklasse of the Italian Baseball League, as well as for the national team of Curacao. And his grandfather, Antonio, is known as one of the greatest pitchers in the history of Curacoa. So you can say Didi was destined to do something good in the sport.

Chase Headley - While Chase was a good baseball player in college, including having broke Todd Helton's record of walks in a single season for the University of Tennessee with 62, he was also an Academic All-American with a 3.62 GPA.

Rob Refsnyder - Rob was not raised to be soft, as it wasn't until he was 17 that he beat his father in pick-up basketball. I like that.

Mark Teixeira - Mark is not only a big Broadway fan, but he also appeared on stage in a production of Rock of Ages as "Mark the bartender".

Dustin Ackley - a friend of mine has a son that was born months premature, and I know how strong my friend was going through that. So knowing that Dustin has a son that was born six months premature leads me to believe that he too is a good a strong man.

Lane Adams - when he graduated high school Lane was the fifth highest scoring basketball player in Oklahoma high school basketball history, and was committed to play for Missouri State University before he was drafted by the Royals.

Carlos Beltran - while sliding into second base for his 300th steal, joining the 300–300 club on June 15, 2012, a cross necklace popped out of his jersey, and after the game, he told a reporter that "all the glory" was God's.

Jacoby Ellsbury - Ellsbury released a zinfandel wine called ZinfandEllsbury through Charity Wines, with 100% of his proceeds donated among three charities: The Navajo Relief Fund, Project Bread: The Walk for Hunger, and Ellsbury Read Project.

Ben Gamel - graduated from Bishop Kenny High School, the same school attended by Darren O'Day and Jonathan Papelbon.

Brett Gardner - while you may have heard this one before, I love it... Brett had initially tried to walk onto the baseball team at the College of Charleston. Although he didn't hear anything about making the team afterwards, Brett showed up to practice anyway. The coach asked why he was there, and Brett told him that he knew he was capable of playing at the Division 1 level. The coach allowed him to stay as long as he didn't screw up, and Gardner ended up a third-team All-American and a second-time All-Southern Conference player.

Slade Heathcott - Slade's overcome a lot in his life. When he was younger he was arrested for DUI, and was kicked off the high school baseball team for academic reasons. And is said to have pointed a 12-gauge shotgun at his father during an argument. Thankfully, with the help of Sam Marsonek, a former MLB pitcher, Slade turned his life around.

Aaron Hicks - Aaron actually wore #32 in Minnesota to honor Dave Winfield.

Mason Williams - Williams' father, Derwin Williams, played in the National Football League for the New England Patriots. His grandfather's brother, Walt Williams, played Major League Baseball from 1964 through 1975 as an outfielder with the Houston Colt .45s, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez - we all know how gifted a baseball player Alex was when he was younger, but did you know that he was very close to becoming the next Bo Jackson/Deion Sanders? Before joining the Seattle Mariners, Alex was set to play both baseball and football at the University of Miami?


Although I'd love to see Brian Cashman pull a rabbit out of a hat and make a big splash with a trade that would net the Yankees a good/young starter, part of me hopes nothing happens otherwise I might have to re-do this article.

I tell you what, should it happen I'll include a bit of information about whoever joins the team... but not all 40 of them again.

Deal?

By the way, if you have something about a player, then put it in the comments. Even if the person isn't currently on the team, or heck... never was, tell us about it. I think stuff like this is really interesting.

Boredom + Wikipedia

I was bored last night and decided to look at the Wikipedia entry for Russell Martin, to try and get a better idea of who the guy was. With talk of the Yankees possibly signing him beyond this next season, I wanted to get to know more about the him. That's when I saw this...

In an effort to quit the use of chewing tobacco, Martin began wearing a custom-fitted mouthpiece during the 2009 World Baseball Classic and Spring Training.

So I decided to go through the current Yankees and see if any of them had anything interesting going on. Here's what I found...

Mark Teixeira - Teixeira enjoys Broadway theatre and identifies Les Misérables as his favorite production.

Robinson Cano - Due to his charity work, The Hackensack University Medical Center named a pediatric rehabilitation ward after him.

Derek Jeter - There is a wax figure of Jeter at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York. pretty sure I heard this before, but decided to include it anyway

Alex Rodriguez - Rodriguez owns a Mercedes-Benz dealership in League City, Texas.

Curtis Granderson - As a child, Granderson grew up a fan of the Atlanta Braves, choosing not to root for the hometown Chicago Cubs because he often rushed home from school to watch Saved by the Bell and was disappointed when a Cubs game was on instead.

Nick Swisher - As a strong safety he was recruited by several Division I-A colleges, including Notre Dame, but chose to pursue baseball.

CC Sabathia - Despite throwing with his left hand, Sabathia is right-handed.

Phil Hughes - As a child, Hughes was a Red Sox fan and had a poster of Nomar Garciaparra with the slogan "Reverse the Curse" on his bedroom wall. I knew there was something about him I didn't like.

Mariano Rivera - Rivera and his wife Clara have known each other since elementary school, and they were married on November 9, 1991.

Joba Chamberlain - When Joba (then Justin) was a little boy, his two-year-old cousin was unable to pronounce her brother (Joba's other cousin) Joshua's name correctly, pronouncing it as Joba instead. Harlan Chamberlain heard this and liked the nickname, so he began referring to Justin (instead of cousin Joshua) as Joba. Harlan said the name was "dynamic." Joba agreed, and eventually had his name legally changed. I had to read this a few times to understand what was going on, but once I did I thought it was cool.

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