Imagine the mythical lumberjack Paul Bunyan standing before you, but instead of a woodsman’s ax resting on his shoulder, he carries a baseball bat and displays a warm smile. That’ll give you a good picture of New York Yankees rookie sensation Aaron Judge, who, at 6’7” and 280 pounds, is one of the biggest men ever to play professional baseball.
Judge now holds the new American League record for home runs in a single season after slamming his 62nd long ball of the year on October 4, 2022, off Texas Rangers starter Jesus Tinoco. That homer broke Roger Maris’ mark of 61 homers, set in 1961. Maris broke Babe Ruth‘s longstanding record of 60 home runs, set in 1927. And now 61 years later, Judge rules the A.L. homer roost.
After the game, Judge said. “Getting a chance to do this, with the team we’ve got, the guys surrounding me, the constant support from my family whose been with me through this whole thing … it’s been a great honor.”
Judge’s prolific display of power in 2022 was far from an anomaly. He hit more home runs in his first season than any rookie slugger in history and led the New York Yankees into the playoffs, where they fell just one win short of representing the American League in the 2017 World Series. For his heroics, Judge was named the A.L. Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote by the Baseball Writers of America, the first Yankees player so recognized since Derek Jeter won that award in 1996.
In addition to setting the new American League homer record and his 2017 Rookie of the Year award, Judge has amassed a long list of other accomplishments in his young career. He’s a four-time All-Star and won the 2017 Home Run Derby. He’s also been named a Silver Slugger twice and won the Fielding Bible Award, which rewards solid defensive play, in 2021.
Judge is a superstar in a city that loves its sports heroes but also tempts them with an abundance of the kind of distractions that can derail a promising career. He relies on faith and family to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
Born and raised in Linden, California, Judge was adopted as a newborn. When he was 10 years old, his folks, Patty and Wayne Judge, both teachers, shared with him that they were not his birth parents, something he had already begun to suspect. “I knew I didn’t look like them,” Judge told NorthJersey.com columnist Bob Klapisch. “I finally said, ‘OK, what’s going on?’ and that’s when they told me. I was fine with that, they were the only parents I ever knew. It actually wasn’t a big deal.”
Judge remains very close to his parents and calls them every day. He’s also known for his efforts to commit to memory the names of every reporter he encounters, both at home and during road trips.
Judge also avoids the nightlife that has been the downfall of many a New York athlete, and while he does, like so many athletes today, have a Twitter account, it’s strictly G-rated. The intro blurb reads, “Christian. Faith, Family, then Baseball. If what you did yesterday still seems big today, then you haven’t done anything today!,” and the banner image at the top of the page quotes 2 Corinthians 5:7—”For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
In 2017, Joe Girardi, then the Yankees manager, discussed what makes the superstar right fielder special. “He’s got a smile all the time,” Girardi said. “He loves to play the game. You always think that he’s going to do the right thing on the field and off the field when you look at him. He’s got a presence about him.”
Faith, family, then baseball. That’s a recipe for success. Record-setting success.
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