Judge re-signs with the Yankees for the highest price in FA history! A man who has increased his value by more than $150 million in just six months

Last Updated on 12/08/2022 by てんしょく飯

On December 6, multiple U.S. media outlets simultaneously reported that Judge, a cannonballer who became a free agent this offseason, has re-signed with the New York Yankees for nine years and $360 million (¥48.96 billion). The total contract amount of $360 million is the highest ever for an FA player. The $40 million annual average is also the highest ever for a fielder.

The “Aaron Judge madness” has finally come to an end.

Judge, who hit 62 home runs this season, an American League record, and won the MVP vote over Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, was the subject of a bidding war between the Yankees and the San Francisco Giants, a team near his birthplace.

In late November, Judge himself flew to San Francisco to meet with the Giants’ leadership, and on December 5, Jon Heyman of the “New York Post” tweeted that Judge was “likely to join the Giants,” which caused a stir on social media. There was also a moment of denial, with the Giants CEO saying, “There’s nothing to report.

Indeed, it seems that Judge’s mind was quite torn between the Yankees and the Giants. In fact, the Giants’ offer was reportedly close to $360 million in total. Nevertheless, Judge ultimately chose his “old stomping grounds,” where he had spent the first 10 years of his professional career.

It should be recalled here that Judge turned down the Yankees’ offer of an extension before the season opener. The Yankees offered $213.5 million for seven years. It must have taken a lot of courage to say “no” to such a large sum of money. In fact, Judge, who had been slumping, hitting just one home run in his first 13 games, said he sometimes wished he had accepted the offer.

Nevertheless, Judge’s “gamble” on himself paid off, as he began to hit home runs at a tremendous rate in late April, eventually reaching No. 62, the most in MLB history for a “clean” player unaffected by the drug scandal. He won the game of a lifetime.

The difference between this contract and the Yankees’ offer before the season opener was nearly $150 million. In just over half a year, Judge had increased his own value by more than 20 billion Japanese yen.

New York fans and Yankees GM Brian Cashman must be relieved. It is true that it is a risky contract to give a 30-year-old cannonballer who is prone to breakdowns. Still, it would have been a stain on the history of the Yankees if they had let a player who had one of the most memorable seasons in MLB history leave the team in FA.

He set the home run record, won the MVP award, and received the highest contract in FA history. As an individual, he had already achieved the greatest glory. But Judge had never even played in a World Series. In 2023, he will once again don the familiar pinstriped uniforms and begin a new battle.