Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees captain’s commitment and loyalty to the Bronx, was proved the day he chose to turn down an approximately $400 million deal from the San Diego Padres and his home team, the San Francisco Giants in free agency. Judge didn’t want to leave NY before bringing a championship home.
And hence, he joined hands with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner to sign a nine-year $360 million extension contract in 2022 free agency. However, the Giants fans are still not over Aaron Judge’s last minute betrayal and hence the fans as well as on-air broadcasters took shots at him in his first visit to California since 2019.
Giants Loyalist Throws Shade At Yankees Captain Aaron Judge
In 2022, now New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge was one of the most sought-after free agents, with several teams, including the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, making substantial offers to acquire his services. Padres apparently offered as many a $400 million to Judge while California played the home ground card. An ‘Arson Judge’ tweet from Jon Heyman further added fuel to the speculations of Judge heading to Giants before the AL-MVP confirmed his decision to stay back in New York. His choice was seen by many as a commitment to the team that drafted him and where he had achieved considerable success. However, the Giants fans and broadcasters weren’t happy, and their grudge was evident during Judge’s visit to California this season.
Aaron Judge arrived in Oracle Park for the first time since 2019, and the Giants crowd greeted him with loud resounding boos. While the New York Yankees silenced his haters with a multi-homer game, a board caster continued to throw shade at Judge in his latest radio show. Matthew Steinmetz said on the 97.5 Game podcast that Judge was gutless and didn’t want to come to San Francisco as he was incapable of handling the pressure. “He didn’t want the pressure of Barry Bonds’ [shadow],” Steinmetz said. However, despite everything, Aaron Judge enjoyed his time in California, a town he grew up as a Giants fan. While he acknowledged the crowd’s bittersweet emotions, ultimately, Judge is grateful to have landed back in New York, where he wishes to accomplish the unfinished business of claiming a World Series championship.
Judge Happy To Silence ‘Rowdy’ San Francisco Fans
As Aaron Judge, the local boy, walked up to the plate of Oracle Park last week, San Francisco Giants fans hosted him with incessant boos. However, those boos soon turned silent as Judge hit back with back-to-back home runs to lead the Yanks to a 6-2 win in the three-game series opener.
However, despite the hostile reception, Aaron Judge was happy to be back in California after a five years long wait. “Fans are rowdy and had family and friends there. So, it was fun,” said Judge after the win. By the end of the series, Judge ended up having the last laugh as the Yankees swept the Giants to claim a sensational 42-19 record.
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