Aaron Judge Recounts How He Got Called Up to the Big Leagues
Aaron Judge made waves in The Bronx from his very first day on the field. He’s made headlines ever since. Sure, his size has helped him stand out among the crowd. At 6’7 he’s one of the biggest players in the MLB, but there is a lot more than height behind the right fielder’s star power. While his current status on the team is that of a star, his journey to get to the Bronx isn’t all that glamorous.
How did Aaron Judge find out he’d be joining the Yankees?
Getting called up to the majors might seem glamorous. Admittedly, it’s one of the most significant moments in a baseball player’s life, if not the pivotal moment in their career. The moment, however, doesn’t seem to come with private jets and a round of confetti. At least it didn’t for Aaron Judge, the powerhouse right fielder for the New York Yankees. Judge, standing at 6’7, found out he’d be playing right field at Yankee stadium less than 24 hours before he walked onto the famed diamond, and he had to drive all night to make it happen.
Sitting down with Eddie Matz of ESPN, Judge shared the experience of becoming a major leaguer back in 2016. He told the seasoned reporter that he was seated at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Rochester with his family and girlfriend when his Triple AAA manager walked up and told him to speed up his dinner, he had to be in the Bronx the same day.
Judge, along with his parents, hopped in a rental car and left Rochester. Judge seated in the backseat tried to sleep during the nearly 6-hour drive. On August 13, 2016, he arrived in the Bronx and stood in right field to play his first major league game.
Aaron Judge made history at his first at-bat with the help of a teammate
Getting called up to the major leagues is a big deal, but what you do with the chance defines whether you’ll be remembered or forgotten by the next season. Judge, with the help of a teammate, ensured he’d never be forgotten.
Judge and Tyler Austin were called up to the majors on the same day. They were batting back-to-back in the order. Austin took to the batter’s box first and finessed a home run out of the Tampa Bay Ray’s pitcher. Judge, stepped into the box next, sending the ball soaring into the net in center field.
According to MLB, Austin and Judge became the fourth and fifth players in Yankees’ history to homer in their first at-bats. They, however, became only the second duo ever to hit back-to-back home runs in their first-ever trip to the major league plate.
Aaron Judge’s 2019 season
More than three years after he set foot in the Bronx stadium for the first time, Judge is on track to become an essential factor in his team’s runup to the post-season. Marred by injury during the earlier months of the team’s 2019 campaign, he’s back in full-form and is poised to impact just how deep into October the team gets to play.
Judge’s bat has heated up in recent weeks, according to The New York Post. He’s clobbered six balls in the last eight games he’s played leading up to the team’s Sunday contest. Judge believes that those home runs are what will lead the team to another successful post-season campaign. He told the Post; “You’ve got to have good pitching. But the World Series is homers,’’
