“On Rainy Days, He Rolled..”: Aaron Judge Opens Up About Father’s Passion for Michael Jordan Which Nearly Led Him Away From Baseball

The New York Yankees and Aaron Judge share an integral relationship. Besides being a professional baseball player, the Yankees Captain is famous for his love for football and basketball. Once the Judge revealed, for a few years, he even had a basketball coach who made him watch Michael Jordan EHS tapes.

In the Sports field, players often play different sports outside their profession to relax the stress. However, Aaron Judge even learned to hoop in basketball from a coach who was a die-hard fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and later the San Francisco Giants. The 5x All-Star player recently sat on an interview and revealed his childhood basketball training.

Aaron Judge Revealed About His Childhood Basketball Coach

Though Aaron Judge was born and brought up in North California, fate has planned different things for him. Instead of being a member of the San Francisco Giants, the team he grew up watching, he started his MLB career with the 27x World Series winning team. However, besides baseball, Judge is renowned for his passion for basketball. Recently, he appeared in a show, “Mini Hoops: Aaron Judge | Jordan Brand,” where he had to basket the ball while answering each question. This segment is unique, and Judge hoops the ball perfectly, making the host ask him about his basketball skills.

The 2022 MVP replied his father, Wayne Judge was his basketball coach in his childhood. He added, “See my dad, he’s a big basketball fan. He had me watch Jordan EHS tapes. You know, he had he was a teacher, so on rainy days, he rolled the tv. He was my basketball coach for a quite a few years.” Being a big basketball fan, his father wanted Aaron to have basketball knowledge by watching Michael Jordan, who used to be one of his favorite basketball stars.

A few months before, during another interview, Judge admitted he was uncertain about being a baseball player. Until high school, he was fond of playing three sports-baseball, basketball, and football. He used to get bored while playing a single sport throughout the season. As soon as football season ended, he was eager to be in baseball because he was already tired of playing football until then. This same follows when baseball season almost came to an end.

So, he was never focused on playing a single sport, especially baseball, until he was scouted for the Fresno State Bulldogs. Once he joined the baseball team, he was solely focused on playing baseball and eventually paved his way to MLB.

As part of the New York Yankees, Judge has to stay in New York, but sometimes, he visits his homeland, North California, to meet his family. His parents still live there, and in an interview, the Captain once revealed a shocking fact about his father’s baseball preference.

Aaron Judge’s Father A Former Dodgers Fan- Later, His Preferences Changed

With 5x All-Star awards and several other achievements, the Yankees captain once revealed his father was not a Yankees fan. He had never been one. From the beginning, his father was a fan of the two counterparts of The Pinstripes- the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. Initially, he was a die-hard fan of the Dodgers, but the recent performance of the Dodgers made him shift his preference to the Giants. However, the New York Yankees were not on the list.

Read More: 7 Years Before ‘The Martian’, Aaron Judge “Hammered” His Way Into Record Books With Smashing Debut

His father grew up in Southern California, watching the Dodgers Stadium and his favorite players. So, initially, he had full support for them. Later on, he became a Giants supporter instead. Judge even revealed that he once got an offer to join the San Francisco Giants, but he preferred the Yankees.

What do you think of Aaron Judge wearing a San Francisco Giants jersey and playing for them? Share your thoughts with us.

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