New York Yankees name superstar Aaron Judge 16th captain in franchise history




CNN

The New York Yankees have named superstar outfielder Aaron Judge as the 16th captain in franchise history, Yankees general partner Hal Steinbrenner announced Wednesday.

“It goes without saying what an honor it is,” Judge said during his press conference on Wednesday. “Review the list of, you know, Thurman Munson, Lou Gehrig, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly.

“That’s a pretty good list there. Not just great baseball players, but great ambassadors of the game and great ambassadors for the New York Yankees. It’s an incredible honor that I don’t take lightly.

“I will continue to try to be the same leader that I have been for the past six years, continue to lead by example and I know there are some added responsibilities with this, but I am here to embrace every hurdle and continue to lead this team and this city to not one, but multiple championships down the road.

Judge is the Yankees’ first captain since Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Jeter retired in 2014.

The 30-year-old judge signed a nine-year contract worth $360 million, following a historic season in which he broke the American League’s single-season home run record (AL ) by Roger Maris in October when he hit his 62nd home run. .

A four-time All-Star and reigning AL MVP, Judge was drafted by the Yankees in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Fresno State.

During his career with the Yankees, Judge has a .284 batting average, 220 homers and 497 RBIs (RBI) in 729 games over a span of seven seasons (2016-22).

When asked how the discussion to become Yankees captain came about, Judge said he spoke with Steinbrenner at 3 a.m. while he was in California.

“He [Hal Steinbrenner] messaged me earlier about what kind of problem? You know what it’s going to take to get to the finish line,” Judge said.

“So we jumped on a quick call and he was busy and he said no matter what time you call me and we’ll sort things out.

“And then at the very end he talked about how Thurman Munson was his favorite player and how important the captaincy and that honor was to not only him and his family but also to the team and this organization and m have somehow presented.

“I was a bit at a loss for words,” Judge added. “I don’t think I said anything for, it lasted five minutes. It was probably just a few seconds and I was really surprised because it’s an incredible honor.

“Like I said, you look back on this list of individuals, you have this title, it’s such an honor. I’m really lucky to be part of this organization for nine more years.

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