Judge Aaron Judge
Major League Baseball After Major League Baseball superstar Judge broke the American League record with 62 home runs in a single season and won the annual MVP, it was rumored that he agreed to stay with the New York Yankees for 9 years and 360 million US dollars, and received the richest free agent contract in the history of the major leagues.
The official channel of the major leagues and the sports news website "The Athletic" reported today that 30-year-old Aaron Judge made a choice between the Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres who joined the robbing battle at the last minute and decided to continue wearing a striped jersey on the field for the next nine years. The new contract has yet to pass the physical examination, and the team has not confirmed the relevant information.
If the news is true, Judge surpassed Bryce Harper's 2019 price tag of $330 million to join the Philadelphia Phillies in 2013, and received the highest free agent contract in the history of the major leagues.
Judge has repeatedly expressed his willingness to stay, but before this year's season he rejected the team's seven-year, $213.5 million condition and entered the free agent market after the season. Faced with attempts by the Giants and other teams to poach him, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is committed to retaining the iconic star. During the offseason, he expressed his hope that Judge would be a "Yankee for life" during the contract negotiation in Tampa, Florida (Tampa).
After Judge's historic season, Judge's worth was tested and the returns were abundant. The new contract lasted two years longer than the Yankees originally offered, and the total value was nearly 70% higher.
In the history of the major leagues, the total value of Judge's new contract is only lower than Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout's 12-year, US$426.5 million extended contract, and Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts' 12-year, US$365 million extended contract; based on average annual salary, Judge's US$40 million is a new high for a major league fielder, only lower than New York Mets Double ace pitcher Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander's $43.33 million.
The major league winter meetings will begin in San Diego this week. The free agent market is bustling, and who will end up with Judge is the most exciting drama.
In the annual athlete interview article published by TIME yesterday, Judge, who has always spoken cautiously, expressed dissatisfaction with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman for breaking the tacit understanding at the beginning of the season and announcing the team's renewal price. He also mentioned that when Judge was in high school in 2010, he predicted that in 10 years he would play for the Giants who he grew up supporting. Many people therefore speculated that Judge may move to this team close to his hometown.
The Yankees drafted Judge in the first round in 2013 and cultivated him all the way. Seeing that other teams may poach him, Yankees head coach Aaron Boone admitted in an interview with the official Major League Channel yesterday that he was "on pins and needles."
Judge won the American League Rookie of the Year title in 2017 with a then-rookie-record 52 home runs. In recent years, he has gradually shown leadership qualities and became an indispensable piece of the puzzle for the Yankees' championship.
html A 34-time All-Star, he had a career year this year, beating Yankees star Roger Maris with 62 home runs. Maris set the record for the most home runs in a single season in the American League in 1961, with 131 RBI, an on-base percentage of 0.425, and a slugging percentage of 0.686, which ranked second among major league hitters. His batting average was 311%, ranking second in the American League. He almost became the first American League batting triple champion in 10 years. He defeated the "two-sword style" Japanese star Shohei Ohtani by vote and was awarded the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the year.
In the eyes of the outside world, Judge successfully "betted on himself" and used his performance on the field to obtain better treatment. Now he has gotten his wish and is expected to stay with the Yankees until he is 39 years old.
After this man-stealing battle ends, the focus of the outside world will turn to whether and when the Yankees will announce Judge to take over the captaincy that has been vacant since Derek Jeter retired in 2014. Steinbrenner said in an interview with the Yankees broadcast unit in November that the Yankees "will consider" making Judge the captain if the team is successful in retaining the player.
