Yankees President Randy Levine Calls Aaron Judge an “All-Time Yankee”
During a recent Interview with “The Show,” a baseball podcast run and produced by the New York Post, New York Yankees President Randy Levine had nothing but kind words for Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, already granting him the title of an “all-time Yankee”.
"We think Aaron Judge is an all-time Yankee. We think he's a great player, beyond a great player. We think he's a great person. That's why we offered him the highest position player contract in the history of the Yankees.” Levine said. “I admire him that he went out and took this upon his shoulders and we'll sit down with him and hopefully figure it out. I think there's no question we want him back and no question we value him."
Now that’s some high praise for a man that has only played 704 games in pinstripes–which, by the way, would place him at 65th all-time in Yankees history, in between Jerry Coleman and Mike Pagliarulo.
I must admit, though, I’m writing this piece at a very odd time. Aaron Judge is currently only 6 home runs away from tying Roger Maris’ all-time single-season Yankee home run record of 61. Accomplishing that feat would surely get his name in the record books, but Levine calling the shot before the rocket is even set up for launch just rubs me the wrong way.
There’s no doubt that Judge is having an incredible season, but when you look at his career, it’s really only his second legendary year. His first came in 2017, where he won Rookie of the Year thanks to his 52 home runs and 114 RBIs. Since then, he only eclipsed 30 home runs twice–once in 2021, and then now in 2022. From 2018-2020 Judge was plagued with injury, covid, and more injuries–and all the while, the Yankees haven’t won a single thing.
There are a ton of “all-time Yankees.” Just to name a few, we have Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and so on so forth. Adding Judge to that list just seems a bit…premature. That said, he’s still the overwhelming favorite to be the 2022 AL MVP. BetMGM Sportsbook has him listed as a -1000 favorite to win the award, with Shohei Ohtani at second sitting at +550. If you want to bet on Judge to be the MVP, be sure to check out these New Jersey Online Casinos.
