The 30-year-old is chasing a Triple Crown and, with 55 homers as of Wednesday afternoon, is on pace to break Roger Maris’ record of 61 single-season home runs in the American League.
Judge is putting up incredible numbers, but fans are also wondering about the numbers that matter most: Will No. 99 still be in pinstripes next year?
If the Yankees don’t sign him to a contract extension, he will become a free agent this winter, which has led to rampant speculation about his future given his rising stock. This week, team president Randy Levine told The Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on “The Show” podcast that the Yankees “know his value and what he means. I don’t know what’s on his mind. All we can to do is to show him how much we would like him to remain a Yankee.”
But the judge, who is notoriously private, has not lost his hand. In fact, he refused to speak even close to Maris’ milestone, saying, “I have nothing for you. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help us win. I show up and I’m ready to go.”
Aaron Judge hit his 55th homer of the season against the Twins on Wednesday. YES
A source pointed out: “He’s a good team-mate but he keeps to himself. He is extremely guarded.”
And its closed halls have added more mystery to Judge’s lore, which began in August 2016 when the 6-foot-7 outfielder arrived in the Bronx, hitting a homer during his first Major League at-bat.
Fans immediately fell in love with his clean-cut image and saw him as a harbinger of future dominance for the team, which hasn’t won a World Series title since 2009.
Fans fill Judge’s Chambers, the slugger’s official cheering section at Yankee Stadium. Getty Images
The usually lackluster corporate franchise garnered all the attention given to the award-winning first-round pick in 2013. During his rookie season in 2017, they created Judge’s Chambers, a three-series courtroom-themed overseas segment where the fans dress in black robes and white wigs. And he gave them reason to cheer, winning the Home Run Derby, breaking Mark McGwire’s rookie home run record and being named American League Rookie of the Year.
The four-time All-Star’s dominance has grown, and his blockbuster 2022 has even helped keep the team’s ratings up despite a blowout from the Bronx Bombers this summer.
Aaron Judge (second from left) poses with his wife, Samantha Bracksieck, and his parents at the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Getty Images
“There was an incredible buzz around Judge’s pursuit of the domestic record,” Howard Levinson, YES Network’s senior vice president of ad sales, told The Post. “Every Judge at-bat is an event in itself, and we’ve seen a spike in viewership when he’s standing. Our season ratings are up significantly from last year — 19%.”
Judge’s prowess on the field sparked public interest in his private life, and his reluctance to open up to fans or the media was reminiscent of another Yankee great: Derek Jeter. However, Judge, who describes himself as a Christian on his Instagram profile, is even more closed off than the famous shortstop.
“Jeter was private, but he didn’t mind his name being out there. He was a private showboat,” an insider told The Post in 2020. “Aaron is the complete opposite. He is quiet, quiet.”
Also, unlike Jeter, she didn’t look for love in the pages of US Weekly or the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Aaron Judge and his wife Samantha Bracksieck days before their wedding in Hawaii last December.MEGA
During his rookie season, he dated media strategist Jen Flaum, who alerted the world to their relationship in a Halloween Instagram post that showed the pair dressed as Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
But the couple broke up, and around 2019, Judge returned to his roots: He reunited with Samantha Bracksiek, 29, whom he first dated during high school in Linden, California, a small community about 95 miles east of San Francisco.
The town, which has an annual cherry festival with a cherry pie competition, has rallied behind their birthday son. Even the downtown pizzeria Pizza Plus has turned its backyard into a shrine to Judge and sold T-shirts that read “Straight out of Linden” with his number 99 on the back.
A young Aaron Judge steps up to the Little League plate.
The Judge seemed to find his way to Linden by divine intervention. At 2 days old, he was adopted by Patty and Wayne Judge, who were both teachers in town.
“I feel like I was kind of chosen,” Judge told The Post in 2015. “I feel like God matched us.”
Around the age of 10, Judge, whose older brother John is also adopted, realized that he and his parents were not alike.
“So I started asking questions and they told me I was adopted and they answered all my questions, and that was that. I did well with it. It really didn’t bother me because they’re the only parents I’ve ever met.”
Aaron Judge towers over his teammates on the Linden High School baseball team.
Even as a baby, Judge showed signs that he would have an imposing physical presence.
“We kind of joked that he looked like the baby Michelin Tire,” his father said. “It wasn’t long before the four ounces of formula was just the starter and it had to be the oatmeal formula to calm him down.”
At Linden High School, Judge excelled in basketball, baseball and football, a sport that earned him scholarship offers from top programs including Stanford, Notre Dame and UCLA.
But Judge told ESPN, “I fell in love with baseball at a young age . . . He pulled me in.”
Aaron Judge and his wife Samantha Bracksieck are taking a match at the US Open this week. Larry Marano
He played baseball at Fresno State, and Bracksieck followed suit, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in exercise science. Meanwhile, the couple came out of their minor league careers and split in 2016.
After the couple quietly reunited, Bracksieck made headlines in 2020 when she was convicted of a DUI in Arizona, leaving her boyfriend’s name upon arrest. At the time, sources said it was uncharacteristic of Bracksieck, who, like her boyfriend, flew under the radar.
The couple remained together and last December, they married in Hawaii.
Back in 2016, Aaron Judge shows off his big bat before spring training. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Most recently, they were photographed taking in a US Open match, perhaps wringing the last bit of pulp from the Big Apple.
Last October, Judge said he wanted to “be a Yankee for life.” It remains to be seen if the pair plans to move to another city or if the Yankees can win the slugger back with the payday he’s been waiting for.
