“They Made the Game Look Easy…”: Yankees’ Captain Aaron Judge Reveals His Baseball Idols Growing Up and Derek Jeter Did Not Make the List

Most baseball players have idols that they look up to. This could be a player that they looked up to while growing up or even after they started playing the game. For most New York Yankees fans or players, Derek Jeter is a name that pops up. But most recently Yankees captain Aaron Judge did not name Jeter as one of his idols during his childhood. 

Judge has played for the Yankees his entire career thus far and has become the face of the franchise. But while naming his baseball idols during his childhood, surprisingly, Jeter did not make the list.

Aaron Judge reveals his childhood baseball idols

As the captain of the Yankees and a top superstar, Aaron Judge is loved by many. Fans and followers are curious about his favorite baseball legends growing up. Most recently, Judge answered this question and named some of his favorite baseball players during his childhood. He revealed that he grew up in the Bay Area and loved watching the San Francisco Giants play. This led to him idolizing Rich Aurilia, Barry Bonds, and Jeff Kent. Sports reporter Mike Daddino shared the snippet of his interview with Judge on Twitter.

During the interview, Judge said, “You know, kind of growing up near the Bay Area, I watched a lot of Giants games. You know, so, I played shortstop, believe it or not, in Little League. So, I was a big Rich Aurilia fan, Jeff Kent, Barry Bonds. They made the game look easy at times and it was always a treat, a treat back then.” 

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Although Judge once revealed that he’d want Jeter’s autograph, he was a Giants fan while growing up. Furthermore, Barry Bonds is a player that he has mentioned many times while talking about his idols and favorite players. In fact, the Yankees captain even spoke in support of Bonds on a controversial issue.

Judge Considers Barry Bonds’ home run record real 

Many people question whether Barry Bonds’ MLB home run record of 73 is legitimate because of his steroid usage. But Aaron Judge has no doubts. During an interview last year while on the cusp of reaching 60 home runs, Judge said that Bonds’ record is real. He further elaborated, stating that he had seen the legendary slugger slamming home runs as a kid. This was the Yankees superstars’ take on a somewhat dividing issue,

Watch This Story: Top 5 most electrifying home runs by New York Yankees star Aaron Judge 

What do you think of Aaron Judge naming his childhood baseball idols and omitting Derek Jeter? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.