It may have been been an anxiety-riddled process, but the New York Yankees finally got their man. On Wednesday morning, Aaron Judge and the Yankees agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal, keeping Judge in pinstripes until 2031. After hitting 62 home runs in 2022, Judge was bound to get paid handsomely in free agency, and get paid handsomely he did, especially after a bidding war ensued between the Yankees and the San Francisco Giants.
Judge may end up not being worth his $40 million AAV at the tail-end of his contract, but Yankees fans will not care. The 30-year old outfielder is a bonafide New York star, and losing him would have been crushing to a fanbase exhilarated by his slugging exploits throughout the 2022 campaign. Thus, Yankees fans were out celebrating on Twitter, as Judge, barring an unlikely trade in the future, seems poised to spend the rest of his career in pinstripes.
Now that Judge is a Yankee for life I need a Judge jersey
— Dan (@LieutenantDan27) December 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/Lxg19922022/status/1600486372913053698?s=20&t=VEvEUo6Qw7kQGkXuF8lBEg
Hell yeah! Judge is back! Now let's see how the rest of this offseason shakes out. The man is back! Let's all smile and celebrate
— Smitty (@SmiddlyDiddly) December 7, 2022
AARON JUDGE WELCOME BACK YOU BEAUTIFUL MAN I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU
— M.Scarpone (@camilo5678901) December 7, 2022
Aaron Judge received such an incredible windfall, proving that betting on yourself could really pay off big time. Fans will remember how Judge declined the Yankees' seven-year, $213.5 million offer before the 2022 season began. The 6'7 outfielder then proceeded to put up one of the best seasons in MLB history and now he's been rewarded with the biggest baseball free-agent contract of all time.
Good shit on Judge for betting on himself and getting paid almost 400 million. That’s fire
— fredo (@FredoDaGawd7) December 7, 2022
Aaron Judge’s nine year, $360 million contract with the #Yankees is the largest by a free agent in baseball history
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 7, 2022
Some fans remained cynical, however. Aaron Judge will have to maintain elite levels of production deep into his career to make his huge contract palatable towards the end. Nevertheless, the Yankees had no other recourse but to re-sign Judge, especially when he was a legitimate flight risk.
We’re going to live to regret this contact but there was absolutely no way the Yankees could let Judge walk. https://t.co/aisjGuDN6J
— Kareem (@kimo_musr9) December 7, 2022
Long term contract + wrong side of 30 + juiced/dead balls + penny pinching owner + an injury history = a disaster for the Yankees. They wanted so bad to not have this happen (see: first contract offer) but Judge had them by the (juiced) balls after hitting 62.
— KFC (@KFCBarstool) December 7, 2022
Meanwhile, Giants fans felt especially hard done by Aaron Judge's decision. Reports over the past weeks have linked the 30-year old outfielder incessantly to a move to San Francisco, but Judge preferred to stay within the friendly hitting confines of Yankee Stadium instead.
The Giants trying to sign Judge pic.twitter.com/iE6d5QBOm0
— ً ً (@JoeSchoenMVP) December 7, 2022
San Francisco Giants fans when Aaron Judge re-signed with the New York Yankees:
— ✰ 𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟 ✰ (@itsJustinRitch) December 7, 2022
The Giants lost out on Aaron Judge. I hope they get real busy, real quick like trying to sign Carlos Correa or Xander Bogarts and Carlos Rodon for that matter. Too much time wasted waiting for Judge already.
— Kenny (@surfingiantsfan) December 7, 2022
Would have loved to see Aaron Judge in a Giants uniform but also happy the team isn't spending 40M per year on a guy until he's 39.
— Jason (@J_Fengel) December 7, 2022
It remains to be seen how Judge's huge contract works out in the end. One thing's for sure: Judge will be a Yankee for the foreseeable future and fans will be treated to his nightly power exploits until his inevitable decline.
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