Aaron Judge on Tuesday signed a record $360 million deal with the Major League Baseball club New York Yankees. Amidst the chase by the San Francisco Giants to secure his signature, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner announced that the new deal will keep Judge at the Bronx till 2031. 

Judge was also named the new captain of the Yankees for the 2022-23 season and onwards by Steinbrenner. 

Also read: Aaron Judge’s new $360 million deal with New York Yankees: All you need to know

‘This is an incredible honor. I don’t take lightly,” Judge said after the announcement was made.

“I will continue to lead by example. I know there’s going to be couple of more responsibilities with this, but, I’m here to embrace every single obstacle and continue to lead this team and lead this city to not one but multiple championships down the road.”

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Who is Aaron Judge?

Aaron James Judge is an American baseball player who plays for the New York Yankees. He was voted as the American League Rookie of the Year and came in second in voting for the AL Most Valuable Player in 2017. 

Born on April 26 1992, Judge was adopted a day after he was born and was told about it when he was roughly 10 or 11 years old. He attended Linden High School where he played three sports, football, basketball and baseball.

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Judge grew to a height of six foot and seven inches, which made him a natural pick as a centre for basketball, a wide receiver in football and as a pitcher and first baseman for baseball. After high school, various colleges tried to recruit him but he was keen on playing baseball. He ended up at Fresno State. 

He was eventually drafted by the Yankees in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft as the 32nd selection. However, he tore a muscle that season, leaving him out for the entire period. 

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Judge debuted in the MLB in 2016, hitting his first home run in his first at bat. He went on to have a record-breaking rookie season, which stood for two years, before being broken by Pete Alonso. 

The 30-year-old married his long-time girlfriend and partner Samantha Bracksieck in 2021 in Hawaii. The two have been together for the last ten years.