Ever since Aaron Judge stepped into the role of captain, he has been compared to ‘Captain Clutch.’ The latter took the team to great heights, five championships to be specific, and while Judge still has yet to take the team for a win—his leadership has proven to be phenomenal for the team. The New York Yankees, this season and the season prior, have had a huge difference, a good kind.

And while his captainship is often lauded by fans as being Derek Jeter-like, this time Jeter himself lauded the Yankee captain. The New York Yankees celebrated their Old-Timers event and some of the biggest names of the sport, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, were present. The event was to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Yankees 2009 World Series victory. And although Derek Jeter was busy with the festivities, he took out some time to speak with the reporters on several topics, including Judge. 

Derek Jeter showers praise on Aaron Judge: one captain to another!

Derek Jeter didn’t shy away to praise the current captain of the New York Yankees. And it’s not surprising that Derek had the same thoughts about Judge, that most have that he is — amazing! Jeter said, “It seems like he just continues to get better and better, and people fail to realize that he didn’t get out of the gates too well this year, now all of a sudden he’s having seasons like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Barry Bonds.”

It is true because this year didn’t start strong for Judge and many a time the towering slugger had to walk slowly back to the dugout without accomplishing anything. But look at him now, all praises from one of the most accomplished captains of the Yankees! And why not? Judge’s been coming in hot with his gameplay!

Judge’s hot streak has been nothing but marvelous recently. His four-game home run steak, which came to an end during the loss on Saturday, has propelled him to a league-leading 40 homers this season. Now, he is on pace to break his own AL single-season record he had set two years back. Over his last 30 games, Judge is slashing an incredible .415 with 15 home runs, 33 RBIs, and an eye-popping 1.453 OPS. Aaron Judge is all but surely going to be locked up in his second-career American League MVP award.

However, for Jeter, it wasn’t just these stats that stood out but also Judge’s character off the field. “He’s carried on the legacy and tradition of Yankees’ superstar players,” Jeter said. Jeter added, “More importantly, he’s a great representative of this organization. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him, and I’m a big fan of who he is and what he’s accomplished.”

Aaron Judge’s reaction to compared to such baseball greats!

It is not the first time that Aaron Judge, the towering slugger, was praised to be one of the best captains or compared to greats like Babe Ruth. But he truly deserves it! Just recently, Judge joined the exclusive list of players to hit the 50th home run of the season. And currently, there is just another person on the list, can you guess? Yes, Babe Ruth indeed!

Simply hitting those 50 home runs is impressive and for Judge to do that in August–makes it even the more sweet. This is not his first time hitting 50 home runs though, but the third time. Plus, the only person who could achieve that milestone apart from him was Babe Ruth again, who did it four times.

But Judge, being the person he is, doesn’t think he is and doesn’t dwell much on the comparisons. According to him, those aren’t real. He said, “It’s not real. I try not to think about it. Even they would say a lot of the Yankee greats here – Mantle, DiMaggio, Maris Babe Ruth. It’s tough to comprehend or even think about.” Although we bet, most people would agree to disagree on this!

The New York Yankees started this season on a high, but soon they lost their way and fell into a slump. But now, it looks like they’ve found their groove again, breaking free from the rut and gearing up to chase their World Series dreams once more.