[MLB] Was Judge’s rejection of $213.5 million contract extension his biggest gamble?　British newspaper also takes notice: “The gamble paid off”.

Last Updated on 09/08/2022 by てんしょく飯

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is currently hitting 54 homers, on pace for 64 for the season. He is on pace to break the league record of 61 homers, and the “MVP debate” with Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is heating up. Even British newspapers are featuring Judge. The British newspaper even featured Judge, mentioning his contract.

The Guardian,” a major British newspaper, features Judge, who currently has 54 homers.

The Guardian,” a major British newspaper, carried the headline, “Aaron Judge, who rejected a $213.5 million offer, to break the HR record next. Before the season, Judge had turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension from the Yankees. The paper said, “Perhaps no one took a bigger gamble than Judge. And that bet has paid off, and it’s going to pay a lot of dividends,” it noted.

Judge now has 54 shots in 135 games. He is on pace for 64 in a season and is expected to break the A-League record of 61 set in 1961 by Roger Maris, who also played for the Yankees. The fact that the majors as a whole have fewer home runs this season, and that he is 18 behind Kyle Schwarber’s (Phillies) 36, who is first in the National League and second in both leagues, shows how Judge is producing arches.

He had a string of injuries from 2018 to 2020… “It was a gamble, health-wise,” he said.

It’s not “lucky” at all. His 95.7 mph velocity is tops in MLB. He also has 33 “uncontested home runs,” as measured by Statcast, which would stand in any ballpark, 13 ahead of second place. He is 201 centimeters tall and weighs 128 kilograms, but he is a late bloomer compared to other players because he was forced to narrow his batting stance and compact his swing in the minors,” he explained. He was 25 years old when he made his debut in 2016 and broke through in his second year, hitting 52 home runs, a rookie record at the time.

Turning down contract extension talks before the season was “a gamble, health-wise,” for Judge, the paper states. He played in over 90% of the team’s 162 games last year, but was on the IL multiple times in the three years from 2018 to 2020 with injuries to everything from his wrists to his calves; in 2020, a 60-game season, he played in only 28 games; in 2021 and 2022, he’s been healthy, but he’ll be back in 2022. This is perfect timing for a significant salary increase. If Judge becomes a FA after this season, fans will press GM Cashman to get him back at any price. Even if it’s close to $500 million, Judge is slowly making his mark on Yankees history.

The Yankees want to maintain the tradition that the A-League season home run record is set by a player from their own team, Judge is currently 12th in total home runs and would reach Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter if he stays with the Yankees, and he would be a great addition to the Yankees’ lineup from the 1990s through the Judge is also a Jeter-type player. “He quietly does what he has to do, does his job without saying the wrong thing, and shows it with his attitude. If he re-signs with the Yankees, he could be the first team captain since Jeter.