New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge burst onto the baseball scene in 2017 like a shooting star of the first magnitude. Standing six feet, seven inches tall and weighing 282 pounds, Judge won the right field job in spring training and proceeded to set the baseball world on fire during the first half of the season. He was not only setting rookie records and hitting more home runs than anyone, but also hitting them higher and farther and with greater velocity than baseball's other sluggers.
That wasn't all.
Judge quickly proved he was more than just a one-dimensional slugger. Not only was he leading the American League in home runs, batting average, and runs batted in during his early-season splurge, he was also proving himself an outstanding outfielder with great range, a rifle arm, and, despite his great size, even showed the ability to steal bases. He looked to be the total package.
He captured the imagination of the league as the leading vote getter in the midseason All-Star Game; Judge also participated in the Home Run Derby and electrified the crowd by hitting 47 homers, including 23 in the first round, to win the competition. His longest home run traveled some 513 feet and several more shots hit the stadium's roof. He was the player people were coming out to see and his jersey was the number one seller in all of baseball.
Though his production slowed somewhat after the All-Star Break, he was still having one of the great rookie seasons in many years. Playing for the storied New York Yankees he has begun evoking memories of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle, the team's lineage of all-time greats. So it should be no surprise when you hear the call all around baseball – ALL RISE, HERE COMES AARON JUDGE.
