By: Yi Qi
On August 13, 2016, Aaron James Judge hit his first home run. Just from that, people from all over the US knew that he was the next big-league superstar. But because of health problems, is he worth the salary he is asking for?
The New York Yankees thought so. They signed right fielder Aaron Judge to a $19 million contract for the 2022 season.
The Yankees and Judge argued over a long period of time about the contract situation. The Yankees wondered not only whether Judge was worth the amount of money he and his camp were asking for, but also whether his health issues and game attendance should lower his pay. In 2018, Judge only played 112 games out of the standard 162 games per season. In 2019 he only attended 102 games, and in 2020 Covid-19 made his season even shorter; that year he played less than half of the team’s games.
The Yankees and Aaron Judge failed to reach agreement on a long-term contract before Opening Day. GM Brian Cashman said, “[t]he team offered Judge a seven-year contract starting in 2023 that would have paid him $30.5 million per year.” But according to reports form Spencer Brod, Judge and his camp wanted a 10-year, $360 million contract.
“I know the intent on both parties would be to stay here,” said Cashman. “He’s been a great Yankee, he’s an impactful player. Our certainly hope is that at some point we’ll find that common ground that we both feel comfortable with. We obviously had an extended conversation over the last three weeks or so.”.
Judge probably is in the best of his season, hitting .299 with a major-league-leading 27 homers and 53 RBIs in 68 games. On track for his fourth All-Star selection in seven big league seasons, he hit a winning single during Thursday night’s 7-6 comeback victory over defending American League champion Houston. During the season Judge has hit 25 home runs to lead the MLB’s and to join Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle.
Judge needs to step up especially because the bottom half of the team is hitting a funk, with Joey Gallo hitting .186 and catcher Kyle Hakiohsagi only hitting .177. Judge may not have the best health a person could ask for, but he is still on his way to becoming the next MLB super star.
Link: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34128256/aaron-judge-says-looking-forward-arbitration-hearing-new-york-yankees