Aaron Judge is back: PSA Community Reaction

Dec 8, 2022 - 1:00 PM

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Buzz buzz. I had just finished taking attendance in my first period class when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. At first, I thought nothing of it, and settled down to guide my students through their first independent research project of the year. Buzz. But as I walked through the room, demonstrating how to search historical databases and breaking down potential topics with them, my phone would not stop buzzing. Buzz. Something major had happened, and I knew at once what it was, the only thing that would get every one of my group chats to blow up at the same at 8:30 in the morning: Aaron Judge had signed.

Immediately, I felt my stomach drop. I thought back to the previous night, when Jon Heyman had infamously tweeted that “Arson Judge” was headed to San Francisco. Although obviously nothing had come from that report, all signs had suggested that No. 99 wanted to return home to Northern California, and had in all likelihood become the best player to ever depart the Yankees in free agency during his prime. I continued on in my lesson, making sure to hide from my class the stages of grief that had already begun to make their way through me. All the while, my phone kept going, buzz buzz buzz.

After 45 long minutes, the class was over, I sent the students on their way, and checked my phone to learn whether my greatest (baseball-related) fear had come to pass. I scrolled all the way back, to the group chat with my three college roommates. There sat a message from the one Phillies fan in a group of New Yorkers who broke the news we had all wanted to hear but feared would not: Aaron Judge would be a member of the New York Yankees for the next nine years.

That, dear readers, is the story of how I learned that the New York Yankees had done the right thing and made sure that the biggest basher in baseball remained a Bronx Bomber for life. And, judging from the comments section here at Pinstripe Alley, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who felt a pit in their stomach dissolve once they heard the news.

And then, as if the day couldn’t get any better, we learned that Judge had turned down a higher offer from the San Diego Padres (who had a spare $400 million after Trea Turner spurned them for Philly) to remain in the Bronx. Not only did Judge get the bag truck train aircraft carrier of money from Hal that he so rightfully deserved, he actively chose to remain in New York — a win on all sides!

Side note: I’m with you, whoneedssox — I wish I had a spare $360, let alone a spare $360 million!

As the excitement died down, the comments section turned to how we got into the situation in the first place, blasting Cashman and Hal for letting it get to this point and praising Judge for arguably playing the best game of free agency of all time.

And now that Judge is back in the fold, we can also look back at the Arson Judge tweet and laugh.

Of course, this being PSA, we immediately started looking towards the future. The Yankees still have a lot of work to do to match the Astros, after all. In all likelihood, the front office will look to add a left fielder and another starter.

Yeah, yesterday sure was a hectic day, in all the right ways. And now, as always, I turn it back to you. Where were you, dear readers, when you first heard that Aaron Judge, in all likelihood the next captain of the New York Yankees, had returned to the fold? Tell us your story in the comments section below!

(Oh, and vote in our poll too.)

That’s right, there are no negative options on the poll this time around. After all, why should there be? AARON JUDGE ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE!