The New York Yankees named slugger Aaron Judge captain on Wednesday at a press conference confirming the signing of his long-term contract.
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Number 99 is thus the 16th player in history to obtain this distinction and succeeds Derek Jeter, the last man to assume the captaincy of the Bronx Bombers. After the end of his career in 2014, no one had assumed this role.
Judge will be tied to the Yankees through the end of the 2031 campaign under his new nine-year deal. The daily “USA Today” evoked last week a total value of 360 million $. The right-handed hitter set a new American League baseball mark by hitting 62 home runs this year, surpassing Roger Maris’ record of 61 long pitches that dated back to 1961.
Jeter was captain from 2003. Before him, Don Mattingly (1991-1995) had the same honor. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, among others, have also had their leadership qualities recognized in this way.
One more pitcher
In addition, the Yankees formalized a six-year pact with pitcher Carlos Rodon, who was a free agent.
As ESPN reported last week, the starter will earn $162 million in total.
Having played for the San Francisco Giants in 2022, the southpaw went 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA. In 178 innings, he had 237 strikeouts.
Twice invited to the All-Star Classic since making his major league debut in 2015, Rodon played the first seven seasons of his career with the Chicago White Sox. His record is 56-46 and his GPA is 3.60.