Aaron Judge, a forever Yankee, recalled the 2013 draft scenes wherein he was caught by surprise when the Yankees drafted him.
The man of the hour, Aaron Judge, has stayed in the news for a while after signing in the free agent market. However, after days of speculations and talks with the west coast teams, the Yankees skipper decided to stay back with the club. Judge sealed a massive $360 million 9-year deal with the Yankees.
Aaron Judge had a terrific 2022 season wherein he registered a record total of 62 home runs surpassing the all-time record of 61 by Roger Maris. He is one of the greatest the Yankees ever produced. However, Aaron Judge recently revealed that he never considered joining the Yankees during the 2013 draft season. Judge added that he held talks with a couple of west coast teams and was confident of getting picked by them. However, the Yankees caught him by surprise.
Aaron Recalls The Time He Did Not Even Consider Joining The New York Yankees
Aaron Judge made his MLB debut in 2016 against Tampa Bay Rays. However, the Yankees picked the outfielder back during the 2013 draft season. Incidentally, in a recent interview, Judge recalled how joining the Yankees was never on his agenda. Instead, he expected a west coast team to bring him on board.
The Yankees slugger said he held talks with a couple of west coast teams and even attended their pre-draft workouts. And as far as the Yankees were concerned, he did not have any meaningful conversation with the club. As a matter of fact, the outfielder only talked to one of the Yankees’ mental conditioning guys. Judge further added that there was no communication from the Yankees. According to Aaron, he was completely caught off guard when the Yankees announced his drafting as he was expecting to get picked by a west coast team.
“The Yankees were the last ones on my mind. Because I really didn’t talk to them that much,” said Aaron Judge
Uncertainty Looming Around Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge’s association with the Yankees hasn’t been one of the smoothest rides. Despite a terrific 2022 season, Judge decided to enter the free agent market. Meanwhile, the west coast teams like San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres saw an opportunity. They held talks with the outfielder and offered him big bucks. A Yankee executive even revealed that the club prepared to lose Judge.
However, Hal Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, intervened and saved the day for the club. He held a one-on-one conversation with Aaron Judge and asked if he wanted to stay with the club. Moreover, Steinbrenner offered to increase his deal from $320 million to $360 million if Judge intended to remain with the club. Hal made it clear that he was ready to put all his efforts into making Aaron stay. Lastly, putting an end to all the drama, Aaron Judge decided to stay with the Yankees, possibly till the end of his career.