It was getting old. When was Aaron Judge finally going to agree to the richest deal in the history of MLB/season to a position player (Mike Trout of the Angels gets more money @ $420 million)?
Would he jump to the team he rooted for as a youth—the San Francisco Giants? In winning a player of the year award for his incredible 2022 performance which captivated baseball, whether you were or weren’t a Yankees fan, Judge let it be known that his wife reminded him that as a 10 year old, young Aaron wanted to be married to her, his childhood sweetheart and be playing for the Giants. That got all Yankees fans on edge.
Then the amount of the contract and its length—9 years at $360 million, or $40 million/year—made the Yankees fans sweat even more. There was a great amount of sentiment that he would not be in New York, and would not be playing in pinstripes on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium—the Giants are the Yankees’ opponents in the first series of 2023. Angst be thy enemy!!
Moreover, there was a belief that the Los Angeles Dodgers might be a suitor. Certainly that franchise had plenty of money available and the word was that Mookie Betts, himself a former M.V.P., would switch to second base to accommodate Judge on the field and in the lineup.
Surprisingly, the word was that the San Diego Padres, a franchise known to spend big, had become a player in the Judge sweepstakes. To the tune of a purported $400 million dollar offer. Imagine that lineup with a trifecta of Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Judge facing pitchers—scary!!
Wednesday morning came the news the Yankees nation was awaiting—Judge was coming back for 9 more years, at a cost of $360 million. That far surpassed the offer made at the beginning of the season of 7 years for $213 million. Of course, when Judge bet on himself and put up numbers for a lifetime, including setting the American League single season home run record, we fans knew that the price tag for his return was going to be astronomical.
Now there is a sense of relief replacing the panic which was starting to rage among those with varying opinions about what would happen to Judge. He’s back and all is right in the world—at least for the moment.
There are the naysayers who speak of the Yankees making a bad deal. Did Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman really have much choice? The guy set the AL HR record as a Yankee. He is beloved by his teammates. His marketing is through the roof.
Sure, he will age during the length of his contract. And injuries are inevitable. But if he was to average 30 home runs a year for the length of this deal, he would surpass the magic 500 home run threshold for entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a Yankee.
Frankly, I have not seen a Yankee as beloved as icon Derek Jeter until I saw the affection poured on Aaron Judge. The amount of attention he receives; the ovations he gets when his name is announced; and his performance on the field measures up with that of Jeter.
To me, bringing back Judge was a no brainer. If that was what, in fact, his desire knowing the riotous nature of Yankees fans, one can imagine the uproar if Judge didn’t return because the organization had made a decision based on money not to sign him.
This was a Steinbrenner move worthy of Hal’s father, the mercurial “Boss,” George Steinbrenner. For those who believed that George would have had him signed before Judge entered free agency, that is pure fiction. And any notion that the obvious blunder of announcing what offer was on the table before the season began would have happened is sheer fantasy.
Yankees fans should be appreciative of what Hal Steinbrenner and Cashman did with this negotiation. Except that now, just like the naysayers in the press, they will turn their attention to what is next to make this team not merely a contender, but the front runner to win the American League and the World Series. Which is the norm for the very impatient Yankees fans, now mired with no Series win since 2009.
There will be more moves coming in the next few days and leading up to Spring Training. New York has a couple of really young future stars in Orlando Cabrera, the favorite to be the starting shortstop, along with Oswaldo Cabrera, who showed great promise when he became an emergency fill in wherever needed. Then there is the looming presence of Anthony Volpe, the former top pick from New Jersey. He might be readier to assume a spot on the Opening Day roster than the rabid fans think.
I know that pitching has to be addressed, too. I am confident that Cashman will get the right personnel this time—he brought back Tommy Kahnle to add bullpen depth.
There is a question of whether Bryan Reynolds, the Pirates’ All-Star outfielder is a good fit in left field. What would the price be for him—Gleyber Torres? And there are the bloated contracts for the aging and underperforming Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson to deal with.
Give it a rest Yankees fans. Exhale and be glad the savior is returning.
One more thing—I really believed that Judge was very likely to come back to New York by a number of signs. First, his wife ran in the New York Marathon, supported by his buddies Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo. Resigning Rizzo was another key piece of the puzzle; Judge and Rizzo are very close. Throughout the course of this epic, his residence remained in Tampa; given California’s hefty income taxes versus none for Florida residents, that was huge.
Finally, on Monday night, Judge attended the New Orleans-Tampa Bay football game. While he cavorted briefly with G.O.A.T. and fellow Northern Californian Tom Brady, it was who he was with that mattered. Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes, seemingly always in dugout discussions with Rizzo and Judge, and reliever Mike King were there. If Judge was heading elsewhere, he might have gone to the game sans Yankees.
Continuing the theme of what gets old quickly is the Mets inking future Hall of Fame free agent pitcher Justin Verlander to a two year, $86 million deal. Verlander is now reunited with his former Detroit teammate, Max Scherzer. While Verlander is 40 years old, he is coming off of a Cy Young Award winning year in Houston, where the Astros won the World Series.
If the tandem can throw age to the side and perform like the dominant pitchers they have been, the Mets will have a formidable one-two punch at the top of the staff. Filling in the other pieces will determine how good the Mets and the other big-market franchises—the Braves, Dodgers, Phillies and now the Cubs—are at spending their money in free agency and through trades.
Why is it that when I wanted to be rid of him, old man Tom Brady reemerged to win in another come from behind victory? That’s number 44 if you are counting, with the dramatic final TD to secure a triumph over the New Orleans Saints. Actually two TD’s in the last 4 minutes (with one negated for a holding penalty—just for good measure).
This old man needed to go to bed, because I had to wake up early on Tuesday. Yet I found myself mesmerized, my eyes glued to my den TV set, watching him do it again. I kind of knew it was coming, I didn’t want it to transpire, but I wanted to watch vintage Tom Brady make it happen like the magician he is.
Being a New York Jets fan, I had to endure watching Brady punish my team, time after time. As bad as he was to the Jets, he was that tough on Buffalo, another AFC East rival.
We love to hate Brady because of Deflategate, his arrogance and his ability to beat opponents, which has resulted in his being the leading QB in Super Bowl wins. We revel in his failures on the field and ponder his behavior away from the game.
Still, we never are really surprised when he orchestrates another Houdini-like win for his team. No matter at what age. We have really come to expect this from the master.
Lastly, it is sad to see that Cristiano Ronaldo, the legendary striker formerly for Manchester United, is now a bench spectator as Portugal moves on in World Cup play. Could he play a role in a World Cup victory for the Portuguese? Who knows?
All I could think about this week is how things (and people) are getting old.
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