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Aaron Judge's Historic $360M Contract Helps Yankees Regain the Trust of Fans
Dec 7, 2022
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates a home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
You can practically hear the sigh of relief coming from New York, both from the Yankees themselves and perhaps even more so from their fans.
For against what like pretty good odds, Aaron Judge is coming back.
There were indeed signs aplenty throughout 2022 that the 30-year-old outfielder could leave the Bronx this winter. The most recent came Tuesday when the Yankees got a brief yet system-jolting scare from a report that Judge was headed to the San Francisco Giants.
But as Jon Morosi of MLB.com and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported, the American League MVP is sticking with the Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million contract.
The guarantee makes Judge's deal the richest free-agent signing in MLB history, surpassing Bryce Harper's $330 million pact with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2019.
What happens next for Judge and the Yankees will be determined over the next nine years. For now, it ought to be good enough for anyone with so much as a passing interest in the franchise that such a dramatic chapter in its history has gotten a happy ending.
This Season Wasn't All a Feel-Good Story
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 23: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on after reaching third base in the second inning against the Houston Astros in game four of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 23, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
It's amazing how, when broken down to its essentials, a story can look so different on paper than what everyone lived through in real time.
The Baseball Reference page for the Yankees' 2022 season is a good example. It shows that they won 99 games and went to the American League Championship Series, and that the 6'7", 282-pound Judge aided the cause with 62 home runs, 131 runs batted in, 133 runs scored, a 1.111 OPS and numerous other stats that made him easily deserving of his first MVP.
A person who looks at that page years from now could get the impression that the '22 season was nothing but good times for the Yankees, and especially for Judge. But us? In the here and now? Yeah, we have the context.
We know that the Yankees went into their '22 campaign on a wave of disappointment, starting with yet another playoff loss to the Boston Red Sox in October 2021 and continuing with a weirdly underwhelming offseason.
The Yankees might have redeemed themselves if they offered Judge, already a three-time All-Star and the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, a contract extension to his liking before his self-imposed Opening Day deadline. Yet they did not, as he swatted down a final overture that would have paid him $213.5 million over seven years.
Low-balling Judge was merely one of the Yankees' questionable decisions. The other was going public with their terms, which Judge admitted being irked at to Sean Gregory of Time:
“We kind of said, Hey, let’s keep this between us. I was a little upset that the numbers came out. I understand it’s a negotiation tactic. Put pressure on me. Turn the fans against me, turn the media on me. That part of it I didn’t like.”
The Yankees' tactic seemed to work initially. Though Judge started the year in a funk, it's hard to imagine him hearing boos at Yankee Stadium if not for the lingering drama of his contract negotiations.
Aaron Judge says the boos he got toward the end of tonight's game is "nothing new" pic.twitter.com/lluGsfdujK
For a time, things got good. Very good. Judge put himself on pace for home run history and, in turn, elevated the Yankees to historic heights. Through July 8, he already had 30 home runs and the Yankees were off to a 61-23 start.
But while Judge eventually did break Roger Maris' 61-year-old AL home run record, the Yankees skidded to a 38-40 finish and were little more than a pushover in the playoffs. So much so that the boo birds were out at Yankee Stadium in the final two games of the Yankees' ALCS sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros, including for a slumping Judge once again.
In keeping with his usual demeanor, Judge himself took the playoff boos in stride. The general mood of the team, though, was dour. Per SNY's Andy Martino, having the home crowd turn hostile during the ALCS was an "unusually brutal experience" for multiple Yankees.
In Defense of Yankees Fans
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge (99) passes fans waiting for autographs before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Others have made this point better than we're prepared to, but Yankees fans really showed their butts in 2022.
In addition to the misguided boo birds, who can forget the ugly incident involving Myles Straw and the Cleveland Guardians? Or the treatment of Joey Gallo, who was feeling like, well, less than his best self at the end of his Yankee tenure?
There's only so much one can defend any of this, particularly knowing that bad apples are going to be bad apples and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Yet there also seemed to be another element at play in this behavior that smacked of frustration boiling over.
And that, at least, is understandable.
Though nobody can call the Yankees fans of today "long-suffering," there are at least two things they can justifiably gripe about. The first is that, while 30 straight seasons of winning records is all well and good, the club's 13-year World Series drought is not at all in keeping with a tradition that includes 40 pennants and 27 championships.
And thus, the second thing that Yankees fans can justifiably gripe about: The team hasn't been trying hard enough to live up to that tradition.
Consider the trajectory of the club's payrolls. The Yankees used to go into every season with the league's highest payroll. Save for the shortened 2020 campaign, that hasn't been the case since 2013:
It would be one thing if this could be traced back to sudden shortages of resources, but Forbeshas consistently pegged the Yankees as MLB's most valuable franchise. Its revenues hit $482 million in 2022, and $668 million as recently as 2019.
Rather than one of an inability to spend, the story here has often seemed like an unwillingness to do so. And for this, there's even a smoking gun.
“That’s my job every year, to make sure that we’re financially responsible,” Yankees chairman Hal Steinbrenner told reporters in March. “I’ve got a lot of partners and banks and bondholders and things like that that I answer to. But at the same time, it’s always the goal to win a championship.”
Financial responsibility first, championships second. A fine way to manage the expectations of stakeholders, maybe, but a piss-poor way to placate fans who see 27 representations of the latter every time they visit Yankee Stadium.
A $360 Million Olive Branch
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 18: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees celebrates after winning the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)
And yet, here we are in a world where Judge is going to be a Yankee for the next nine years precisely because the man at the top threw caution to the wind.
It wasn't just the Giants, who reportedly offered $360 million, and the San Diego Padres, who offered a whopping $400 million, who forced Steinbrenner's hand. It was also Judge himself, who Martino says personally bargained with Steinbrenner on Tuesday night:
Perhaps Judge left money on the table by not taking San Diego's offer, but his new deal otherwise leaves him lacking for nothing.
Judge will earn $40 million per year—a first for an MLB position player—through his age-39 season in 2031. He gets to stay at Yankee Stadium, which has a short right field to suit his aging legs as well as it has his opposite-field power. And true to Steinbrenner's word, it sounds as if Judge will become the Yankees' first captain since Derek Jeter:
Judge is”very likely” to receive the Captain title, as he shouid once Yankees deal is completed
Thus is the way pointed for Judge to truly cement his place among the Yankees' ample stable of icons. There are already many numbers out in Monument Park, but one can easily imagine "99" there as well.
Especially, of course, if Judge helps the Yankees win at least one World Series before the end of his deal.
His signing makes that eventuality so much more likely in the short term, as retaining him means the Yankees are keeping a source of 24 percent of the home runs and nearly 20 percent of the WAR they produced in 2022. The long term hinges on how they build around him, but, hey, that's where such a notable recommitment to spending is even more encouraging than the bounty of potential stars the team has in its farm system.
So as far as Yankees fans should be concerned, the Judge deal is as much a peace offering as it is a transaction. It's a piece of business that signifies that, no matter how overdue, the team clearly means business again.
Why Lakers Must Deal 1st Round Picks Amid Trade Rumors to Salvage Championship Hopes
Dec 7, 2022
The Lakers' path to titles lies in their willingness to deal their coveted first-round picks.
The Los Angeles Lakers may be getting MVP-level play out of center Anthony Davis and have four-time NBA champ LeBron James leading the way, but their future title aspirations rest not with those all-world players. Instead, it's in the front office's willingness to look at a team built for the here and now and do what is necessary to maximize its potential.
To do so, it must examine its draft equity and decide when it is time to move its coveted first-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
Unfortunately, that appears to be a non-starter, if Fox Sports' Ric Bucher's report proves accurate: "[A] source familiar with the front office’s thinking said any deal that would have to involve one of the team’s future first-round picks 'ain’t happening.'"
The foundational pieces are there in Los Angeles. James and Davis are two of the best players in the world, the latter being one of the most dominant when he can stay healthy and on the court.
But two players do not make the team.
Sure, there is Patrick Beverley. Mr. Playoffs himself, but he is averaging 4.2 points per game, shooting 27.1 percent from the floor and, according to the same report from Bucher, could be on the trade block, although Bucher added the return for him is "not likely to be significant."
Bucher pointed out that the refusal to trade picks could be related to the team's general manager, Rob Pelinka, looking toward the future and "the inevitable post-LeBron rebuild." That raises the question: What was the point of bringing James into the fold, and mortgaging the immediate future by acquiring Davis, if not to win now while you have the greatest player of his generation at your disposal?
It would appear the wisest choice would be to surround James with the talent necessary to win a few championships while you still have him for, at least, the next two or three seasons.
ESPN's Zach Lowe reported on his The Lowe Post podcast that the Lakers have explored the potential of bringing DeMar DeRozan in, but they would need to part ways with the aforementioned picks to make a deal happen with Chicago.
Such a move would immediately improve the scoring issues facing the Lakers earlier in the season and give them a forward who can take the pressure off of James and Davis and win games on his own. It would also, according to Lowe, likely send Nikola Vučević to Los Angeles, where he could be more-than-capable relief behind Davis should injury strike or the big man simply needs a game off.
Both would be massive upgrades from what the Lakers have at their position currently and, assuming chemistry is not difficult to discover between all involved, would almost certainly make the Lakers a sudden favorite to emerge from the Western Conference.
Considering everyone from the players to the front office is in the business of winning and compiling titles, the idea of holding on to two draft picks some five years away in anticipation of your top star retiring or going elsewhere is in direct competition of that philosophy.
No matter how many times the team has struck gold and been able to acquire generational talent, the likelihood that James, a player and leader, walks through the door and can both keep it in title contention while recruiting players to come join him in the pursuit of greatness is low.
Regardless of how bumpy last season and the start to this one have been, it is still in the best interest of Pelinka and the rest of the Lakers organization to accumulate as many pieces as possible to take advantage of the rare foundation it has built before he becomes recognized forever as the front office suit that had James and did not make the necessary moves to win now and often with him.
The Reasons for the Bruins' Historic Start, Ranked
Dec 7, 2022
BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 5: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal with teammate Charlie McAvoy #73 against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period at the TD Garden on December 5, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
Have you heard the news? The Boston Bruins are pretty good this year.
They went 14-0-0 at TD Garden before Monday's shootout loss to Vegas, setting a new NHL record for the longest home streak to start a season. They persevered through key injuries, goaltender Linus Ullmark is making an early case for Vezina contention, and it looks like new head coach Jim Montgomery is panning out.
At 20-3-1, it's time to take a closer look at what's behind the magic for the No. 1 team in the Atlantic. Plenty of little and big things have come together for Boston, so let's rank some of the most evident in order of significance.
9. Closing Time
Surely we all remember those iconic Semisonic lyrics: "Closing time, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay on the TD Garden ice for the goalie hug."
The Bruins have had some wild comeback efforts and otherwise strong scoring performances in third periods.
Is that a good thing, a bad thing or just a thing?
We'll see.
I'd argue the ability to turn it on and decide to win in the third could be good for confidence come playoffs, but at the same time, you don't want to get too confident and think you can have a horrible first period when the other team is giving it 110 percent.
Their first home loss—a shootout against Vegas on Monday—is the best example you'll get of this. The Bruins went down 0-3 against the other best team in the league, climbed back to tie it up and force overtime and lost in the shootout with their backup goalie.
Maybe the pain of losing to former head coach Bruce Cassidy in that fashion will teach them a lesson, but honestly, they had to lose at home at some point this season, and they still got a point against the best team in the West.
It's hard to find this pattern too troubling—for now.
8. Rising up to Top Teams
I'll hand it to the naysayers; at least they were creative. Instead of going for the typical "Is X team peaking early?" trope when it came to these Bruins, they opted for strength of schedule complaints.
The parity in the NHL is so evident right now that Boston's start would've been impressive regardless of who they played, and, yes, the schedule early on featured teams projected on the weaker side.
But the season was so young, and, in retrospect, some of those projections have already changed. The Bruins beat the Stars, Penguins Red Wings, Lightning (twice), Hurricanes and Avalanche, and most recently came back to take the Golden Knights to a shootout. I'm not writing any of those opponents off.
7. David Krejčí
People have underestimated David Krejčí's impact his entire career, and the reception to his return to the Bruins on a one-year contract this season was no different.
To be fair, Krejčí is 36 and left the NHL to play for HC Olomouc in the Czech Republic last season. But he said that wasn't a matter of slowing down or writing off the NHL forever; he understandably wanted to be closer to home during the uncertainty of a pandemic.
Krejčí's re-signing with the Bruins also flew under the radar amidst the will-he-won't-he saga with captain Patrice Bergeron's contract.
Per usual, the noise had no negative impact on Krejčí's play. He's Boston's fourth-highest scorer with eight goals and 19 points in 21 games. Even more importantly, he's a stabilizing, elder presence on the "Czech mix" line with superstar David Pastrnak and Bruins newcomer Pavel Zacha.
There's been so much fuss about "the perfection line" in recent years (as there should be), but these days in the NHL, depth scoring is just as necessary. Krejčí deserves all of the flowers and respect while he's still an active player, and the way he held down the fort during the Bruins' injury issues at the beginning of the season is a pretty accurate microcosm of his entire career with the franchise.
6. Jim Montgomery and Winning for Each Other
He hasn't been a particularly loud presence in the media, and you get the feeling he wants to let his players—and what they've done on the ice—do the talking. They have praised their first-year coach Jim Montgomery for many things early in his tenure, but they all have the theme of building confidence and freedom. They seem to really love Montgomery, and that matters.
I'd also venture a guess that the Bruins' success at home has at least something to do with the positions Montgomery can put his players in with home-ice advantage. Maybe it's a galaxy-brain take, but perhaps we'll do a deep dive into Boston's systems to figure it out later.
5. Somewhat Unexpected Depth
The health of the Bruins' core was in rough shape heading into the season, with Brad Marchand (hip), Charlie McAvoy (left shoulder), and Matt Grzelcyk (right shoulder) all out with no specific timelines in sight. Many doubted—especially after last season's first-round exit—that the next men up could handle replacing these three in terms of production and minute-eating.
Many were wrong.
The aforementioned Krejčí was obviously huge before Marchand's surprise early-ish return on Oct. 27. So was Jake DeBrusk, who has been the best version of himself since his first-line promotion and has eight goals and 17 points in 23 games this season.
Taylor Hall has had a revival of the clutch factor that once single-handedly dragged the Devils into the playoffs. Pavel Zacha has proved a great acquisition. Heck, even Nick Foligno looks like he's in his prime again.
One skater's ability to step up has been the most important, though…
4. Hampus Lindholm
Lindholm was always great on the Ducks, and please excuse the East Coast bias, but even then, I didn't realize just how much I'd enjoy watching him play defense night in and night out.
He's fit so well into the Bruins' system, and it's one of those things where you wish Charlie McAvoy were fully healthy the whole season. Nonetheless, his absence has given Lindholm an opportunity to shine and created some good problems regarding the defensive pairs.
Even with McAvoy back, Lindholm is leading Bruins skaters in average time on ice, logging 24:18 per game. He's been a key part of Boston's massively effective penalty kill as well as the power play. He's on pace for a career year statistically with four goals, 19 points and a plus-22 in 24 games.
According to naturalstattrick.com, the Bruins have a 68.8 percent of the goal share at 5-on-5 with Lindholm on the ice.
They wouldn't be where they are right now without him as the No. 1 defenseman through a significant stretch.
3. The Return of Patrice Bergeron
Perhaps the return of captain Patrice Bergeron has been most important off the ice. As effective as the perennial Selke contender still is in his first-line center role, I've been thinking a lot about the way he handled the Bruins' signing of Mitchell Miller. As a juvenile, Mitchell racially abused and bullied Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with developmental disabilities.
The way he spoke out against it paved the way for his teammates to do the same, and Bruins management acknowledged the players' opposition was part of the reason they took back Miller's offer.
This situation could have ended poorly in several ways, but Bergeron instead made sure fans were clear of his and his teammates' stances on the matter and refused to let it hang over the players' heads. This leadership ensured Miller would not become a Bruin, and it ensured the room was on the same page and there would be no lingering internal animosity.
There's no doubt in my mind this could've sent another team with a different captain off the rails. The Bruins have Bergeron.
2. David Pastrňák
When you think of the 2022-23 Boston Bruins, there's a good chance David Pastrňák comes to mind first. Through 24 games played, he's leading the team with 17 goals and 35 points, the latter of which is good for fifth overall in the NHL.
Not to mention, he scores the type of goals and makes the type of plays you dreamed of doing yourself as a kid when you thought you'd make it to the NHL.
According to naturalstattrick.com, Pastrňák has 27 high-danger chances at 5-on-5, which is pretty impressive considering seven of his 17 goals have come during a man-advantage. Interestingly enough, he's also drawn 10 penalties.
Pastrňák has kept the Bruins afloat on the scoresheet while key players were missing. He's simply electric, he's Boston's power play ace and he's doing it all in the face of a contract year.
1. Linus Ullmark
Linus Ullmark has been a consistently above-average goaltender since he entered the NHL in 2015, especially considering he spent most of those years bouncing around a struggling Sabres system.
Even so, I doubt many people had him slated as a 2022-23 Vezina contender, but here we are. The Bruins' 20-3-1 start full of records simply wouldn't have been possible without Ullmark's (14-1-0) elevated performance.
His goals-against average of 1.93 (hello!), save percentage of .936 and 14 wins are all tops in the NHL. According to moneypuck.com, his goals saved above expected is a solid 10.6.
You also think about how badly the Bruins needed a stabilizing figure in net to build confidence at the beginning of a season without key players. Ullmark more than provided that reassurance.
This has to be the best start to a season for a Bruins goaltender since Tim Thomas in 2010-11. No pressure.
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