“Can’t Do That, Not Now”: When Aaron Judge Tried to Imbibe Alex Rodriguez in His New York Yankees Career by Ditching #99

For any athlete, the number they wear on their back becomes a part of their identity. It is one of the most essential parts of an athlete’s life. It represents every height they’ve achieved in their career. For example, Aaron Judge, apart from being the NY Yankees captain, he is also known for his iconic jersey number #99. However, it wasn’t his first choice. The number 99 was given to him when he reported for his first-ever spring training in 2016. But the number that All Rise wanted on his back was #13.

This jersey number, until 2016, was donned by none other than Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez. Even though the Yankees’ front office did not retire A-Rod’s jersey number, they kept it off-limits for five years. Then, when it finally got available, Judge could not request it. It’s been two years since then, and the number is open. But the question remains the same: will Judge request to change it?

Aaron Judge could not get Alex Rodriguez’s jersey number

During MLB’s 2021 season, various trades took place. And when the Texas Rangers traded their outfielder, Joey Gallo, to the Bronx, the Yanks made jersey number 13 available for their players. Since the trade happened in the middle of the season, All Rise could not request a change of his jersey number. Therefore, the Yanks gave it to their outfielder, Joey Gallo. 

Read More: Why Is 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge Not Taking Part in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Team USA?

While talking about changing his jersey number, he said to his former teammate CC Sabathia in a podcast, “I was trying to see what numbers were open, I thought about 13, but I was like, I can’t do that, not now.”

The Bronx Bombers is the only team in the big league that has retired the most jersey numbers until now. Unfortunately, even after a tremendous career in the league, Alex Rodriguez could not get his number 13 retired. 

Does Alex Rodriguez want to be inducted into Cooperstown?

During his long career spanning over two decades, A-Rod put in the required numbers to get inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. But his association with performance-enhancing drugs stopped him from getting recognition. The former Yankee getting tested positive for taking steroids might also be the reason the Yanks have not retired his jersey number yet. Even though A-Rod wants to be inducted, he also realizes that it might not be possible considering the mistakes he made.

Watch this story: Aaron Judge once joined 23 others in owning an exclusive car by splurging a huge chunk of his net worth

Getting back to Judge, do you think he should switch his jersey number to #13? Let us know in the comments below!