‘He Is the Captain. He Is the Leader..’- Aaron Judge Lauded as the ‘Closest Thing’ the Yankees Have to Derek Jeter’s Greatness

Derek Jeter, during his prime and playing days, was the most prominent face of the NY Yankees. In today’s day and age, Aaron Judge, with his ridiculously powerful hitting and dominance in the ballpark, is the face of the Yankees. Another viewpoint to the situation is that the Yankees are deliberately making Judge their face. It comes in a package with Judge’s off-field charisma and the personality he has developed for himself.

Derek Jeter spent his entire 20-year MLB career with the NY Yankees. During this, he bagged every possible major credible achievement for himself. With the Yanks, Jeter appeared in 14 All-Star teams and won five Silver Slugger and Golden Glove awards. Moreover, he’s also a five-time World Champion and MLB Hall of Fame member.

Can Judge be the next Derek Jeter?

On the other hand, Aaron Judge made his Yankee and MLB debut in 2016, as an outfielder. Since then, he’s appeared in 4 All-Star teams, won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2017, and two Silver Slugger Awards. In addition to that, he hit the most number of home runs in the 2017 American League. Even this year, Judge is comfortably leading the list of MLB with 51 home runs.

Talking about this, Jeff Passan believes that the Yank has made himself over $100 million since the preseason failed contract negotiations with the NY Yankees. He talks about thinking that the Yanks will up their price and eventually bag Judge as he’s the only current predecessor to their former skipper, Derek Jeter. He said, “I do think that when it’s all said and done, Aaron Judge will end up staying with the New York Yankees. Aaron Judge is the closest thing that the NY Yankees have had to Derek Jeter. He is a captain and he is a leader in the clubhouse.”

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Jeff Passan continues to talk about Judge’s reputation with his team. He stated, “He is extremely well regarded by his teammates, coaching staff by management and everybody loves Aaron Judge. So, the idea that he’s going to be wearing another uniform it just seems hard to fathom.”

Aaron Judge is a free agent

Markedly, Judge entered free agency this year and rejected a $230 million Yankee contract for seven years. By rejecting that, Judge has put a large bet on himself. While the Yanks are most probable to match Judge’s price, the other team competing to spend some money on Judge are the San Francisco Giants.

Do you think Aaron Judge can be the next Derek Jeter? Or go even close to the legend?