Before signing a record breaking nine-year $360 million extension contract with New York Yankees, captain Aaron Judge entered free agency in 2022 to up his stakes as a newly crowned AL-MVP. His heart was in New York. Yet, Judge chose to play hard to by flying around the States.
Aaron Judge came close to signing with two contenders, the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, as the two rivals offered Judge hefty contracts. However, Judge eventually decided to reunite with the Yankees. But hours before the deal came through, a humorous tweet linking Judge to Giants went viral that also happened to reach the man himself.
Aaron Judge Happy With Yankees After Rejecting Home Team Giants!
In 2022, Aaron Judge embraced one of the biggest risks of his MLB career by entering free agency days after winning the AL-MVP award. He rejected an extension contract from the New York Yankees in 2021 only to revive as one of the prolific hitters in the league. He made the Yanks work hard by approaching multiple rival teams, including his home team San Francisco Giants. With the off-season reaching its peak, a wild misspelled tweet by reputed MLB insider Jon Heyman set the Yankee media ablaze. Heyman tweeted that ‘Arson Judge appears to be heading to Giants’ in which he not only misspelled Judge’s name but also jumped the gun on the slugger’s free agency move.
Hours later, Jon Heyman had to delete the tweet and apologize as the move didn’t materialize, and Aaron Judge ended up signing an extension contract with the New York Yankees. That being said, California local Judge returned to San Francisco last week for the first time since 2019 to face the Giants in a three-game series. He confirmed that the ‘Arson Judge’ tweet didn’t reach him as he heard those chants from the crowd. “It was fun, you know. It gave the fans something to talk about, something to laugh about,” Judge said. However, irrespective of the local California native’s sentiments, Judge clarified that he is happy and at peace in the Bronx. He is proud of his free agency decision and does not regret returning to Yanks. Notably, the Yankees captain was able to shut down the Giants’ agitated fans with a clean sweep.
When Aaron Boone Had Doubts Over Judge’s Free Agency
The ‘Arson Judge’ tweet caused a lot of misinformation on the internet. It even scared New York Yankees top officials including manager Aaron Boone who was infact certain about Judge’s return to Bronx. However, the infamous tweet did make him nervous before he spoke to Judge in person a few hours later.
Despite the hiccup, Aaron Boone is relieved to have Aaron Judge on his side. He is an absolute legend who is very much capable of leading the Yankees to its lost glory days. The 2024 season is the perfect stepping stone for the Yanks to change the negative narrative and once again dominate the league as they used to a decade ago. And Judge will certainly remain a key piece of the ultimate puzzle.
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