David Fischer - Aaron Judge: The Incredible Story of the New York Yankees Home Run–Hitting Phenom

Copyright 2017 by David Fischer

Foreword 2017 by Buster Olney

All photos by AP Images, unless otherwise noted.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit AP Photos

ISBN: 978-1-68358-236-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68358-237-3

Printed in the United States of America

Real family does not come from your blood. It is the people standing beside you when no one else is.

Anonymous

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

J OE TORRE HELD the 2017 Home Run Derby trophy and was ready to hand it over to the winner, and I stood next to him, microphone in hand, prepared to begin the presentation ceremonies for ESPN. But there was problem: the guy who had earned the trophy wouldnt join us.

Where is Judge? the producer asked from the production truck, the angst in his voice growing. Where is Judge?!

I turned and looked for the slugger, who is hard to miss at 6-foot-7, 282 poundsthe largest position player in Major League Baseball history. He was standing about 30 feet away from me and Joe, his eyes scanning the scrum of people around him. He was also looking for somebodyDanilo Valiente, the Yankees batting practice pitcher who had thrown to him during the Derby. Aaron Judge would not begin the ceremony until Valiente joined him.

Soon enough, Valiente was at Judges side, and our TV team could move forward again. Torre handed the trophy over to the slugger. But of all that happened on this evening, from Judges remarkable splurge of homers to his diminishment of the cavernous ballpark in Miami, his insistence on sharing the stage with a batting practice pitcher virtually unknown outside of the Yankees clubhouse was Judges best and most telling moment about who he is.

Judges impact on the field is apparent to the most casual of fans. He hit more homers in his first season in the American League than any AL rookie evereven more than Babe Ruth, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, or Ted Williams. He scored more runs than any other AL player this year, and smashed the rookie record for walks, which had been held previously by Williams. The day after Judge dominated the Home Run Derby, Reds first baseman Joey Vottoa former MVP generally regarded as the smartest hitter in baseballspoke with awe as he recounted watching Judge the night before. I dont think people understand how difficult it is to do what he does, said Votto. Hes amazing.

But the greatest test of Judge could be in how he handles the scrutiny of playing in the worlds largest media market, at the center of the most popular sports franchise in the world. When Derek Jeter played for the Yankees, he would receive something in the range of 500 to 1,000 pieces of mail a day, from autograph requests to bar mitzvah invitations to marriage proposals. Judges natural humility that we witnessed on the field right after the Home Run Derby will serve him well, and even near the end of the first summer of Aaron Judge in Yankee Stadium, he seemed largely unaffected.

ESPN broadcast a game at Yankee Stadium on September 3, the Red Sox against the Yankees, and Judge and his teammates pummeled Boston ace Chris Sale. Judge had been slumping, but in the sixth inning, he clubbed a long home run off reliever Addison Reed. After the game was over and I beckoned for him to do the postgame interview, Judge was clearly surprised; after all, he hadnt been a pivotal performer that night.

Are you sure you want me, Buster? Judge said.

Im under orders, Aaron, I said, referring to the producers of SportsCenter . They want you.

He nodded and looked down shyly. I told him that we were about 30 seconds from going on air.

He looked at me and smiled broadly, with a purpose. Do I have anything in my teeth? he asked, laughing.

Aaron Judge is living life-changing events, and so far, he is unchanged.

Buster Olney, September 2017

INTRODUCTION

B EFORE THE HOME Run Derby on July 10, 2017, Major League Baseballs commissioner, Rob Manfred, was discussing with a Miami Marlins executive the ground rules for a ball hitting the roof of the retractable stadium atop Miamis Marlins Park. The executive said that no one had ever done it before, and stadium engineers had used NASA calculations to determine a roof height that they felt no baseball could possibly reach. As if on cue, Aaron Judge, who was taking batting practice, smacked a ball off the ceiling. He did it again during the competition, which he won with an awesome display of power. This is the stuff of Paul Bunyan legend, said Manfred.

Judges freakish athletic skills were on display throughout his teenage years when he was a three-sport star playing football, basketball, and baseball for Linden High School in central California. The self-deprecating, aw shucks demeanor that he exhibits at his locker before and after games was ever present back then too. Judge was every bit the humble and genuine kid growing up. But as one of the tallest kids walking around the halls of his high school, it was hard for Judge not to call attention to himself. He may have stood out at Fresno State, but he did not behave like the BMOC (big man on campus). That is, until he stepped onto an athletic field or court.

As a major leaguer Judge is never cocky or demonstrative. He is a self-effacing, down-to-earth giant, a team-first guy who lets his athletic skills speak for him. Now he is hitting baseballs farther than any Yankee in recent memory, and fans are taking note. Theyre not necessarily fascinated by the number of home runs he has hit; it is how hard they come off the bat and how far they travel. Judge is the perfect breakout star for todays high-tech, stats-obsessed version of baseball; fans know the exit velocity of every home run, which only adds to his mystique.

This book brings the exciting story of the Yankees newest superstar to life. The huggable hulk, as one journalist has called him, offers a newfound sense of hope in baseball and a reason to stay excited through the Fall. Along the way, he has the opportunity to create another storied era of dominance for the New York Yankees.

If the expectations are weighing on Judge, hes not letting on. The big thing for me this year is having blinders on, he said. Its tough. Theres a lot of noise. But thats the thing, youve got to be mentally strong enough to fight through the noise.

CHAPTER 1

CALIFORNIA KID

A BABY BOY WEIGHING eight pounds eight ounces was born on April 26, 1992, in a hospital in Sacramento, the capital city of California. The next day, Patty and Wayne Judge adopted the infant and named him Aaron James Judge. Its a miracle, said Wayne, remembering back to the day when he and his wife brought Aaron home for the first time. Aaron was the second child welcomed into the Judge family with loving kindness. Patty and Wayne had already adopted a son, John, who is four years older than Aaron. The brothers grew up in Linden, a rural, agricultural town in the countryside of San Joaquin County, less than 100 miles east of San Francisco.