Aaron Judge, captain of the Yankees: His teammates share tales of leadership
Chris Kirschner
Mar 29, 2023
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TAMPA, Fla. — Anthony Volpe’s first encounter with
Aaron Judge came just days after he was chosen by the
Yankees in the first round of the 2019 draft. Volpe was in Florida at the team’s player development complex meeting the minor-league staff when he crossed paths with Judge, who was there rehabbing from an oblique injury.
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Even then, Volpe remembers captain-like behavior from Judge. He catered lunch from Texas de Brazil, a popular Brazilian steakhouse, and rented an ice cream truck to come by the complex.
“He was an amazing player,” Volpe said. “But I don’t think he was getting paid like that yet.”
Volpe said Judge introduced himself and told the younger player that if he ever needed anything from him, he should not hesitate to reach out. He was there to help.
Four years later, a new era of Yankees baseball is here. Volpe will become the team’s youngest player to make his debut since Derek Jeter, while Judge becomes the Yankees’ first official captain since No. 2.
Before the Yankees officially named Volpe the team’s starting shortstop, he was in Tampa working out at the team’s facility in December. For the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, Volpe returned home to Watchung, N.J., though a couple of teammates he’d been staying with remained in Florida to continue training. When Volpe returned, he learned that Judge was around the facility and watched his teammates hit. Judge didn’t take cuts with them. Still, he helped pick up the balls afterward.
“It’s like the smallest tidbit but the fact that I asked them how training was going and pretty much the first story they told was that one? It went a long way,” Volpe said. “I wasn’t surprised but it just shows that he’s who everyone says he is. He’s someone who I have looked up to before but he is the perfect captain to have.”
When Volpe received news this weekend that he officially made the Yankees, one of the first people to call him was Judge. As soon as Volpe answered the phone, Judge ribbed his newest teammate: “Have you packed your bags for Scranton?’
Volpe won’t be heading to Triple A. Instead, he’ll continue his development in The Bronx and form what the Yankees hope is a long-term partnership with The Captain.
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The Athletic surveyed the Yankees clubhouse for a personal story or moment that spoke to why
MLB’s most storied franchise made Judge the team’s 16th captain in the organization’s history. We’ve listed their answers in order of who’s been with Judge the longest, starting with two teammates from his big-league debut in 2016.
“I think I’ve been around for the longest — 100 percent, I’m the longest here with him. I think becoming a captain is something that happens over time. How much time you have with the organization, obviously coming up with all of the guys that are currently with the team now. I guess it’s establishing yourself first and then becoming a leader for a certain amount of time. I think everything he’s done is the correct way. There’s nothing you can really foresee in anyone’s career. He hit over 50 home runs in his first full year. He’s been consistent as a hitter. Doing all that stuff is how you get the respect you deserve in order to have a captain label. He’s definitely a guy who wants to maximize everyone’s potential and always wants to push you. Anybody that is willing to push someone else to do better is someone you want in your corner.”
Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks (Elsa / Getty Images)
“The thing is, this is the first year that Judge is the captain for our fans. For us, it’s been years before that. We’ve seen him as our captain years before this happened. The way he plays the game, it doesn’t matter if he’s 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, he’s the same guy when we win the game. He just cares about winning games, caring for people and all of his teammates. I’ve never seen somebody care for other people more than him. That’s why he is where he is now.”
“He always goes out of his way to go above and beyond to bring everyone together, even off the field. He’s the guy who initiates team meetings whenever we have to have a players meeting. Off the field, he’s always setting up dinners so we can all hang out so we can get closer as a team. To me, that’s what someone who embraces the role of leadership does. I think we all appreciate that and we all think he’s more than deserving of that title.”
“My first year in the big leagues was in ’18. In spring training, I had a really good conversation with him and we had a really good relationship from then. After games, we would always go to dinner. He helped me as a younger guy in what is a big situation in New York. Just all of my talks with Judge, he helped me so quickly to understand how to mature in every situation. Right away, I felt like he was already the captain on the team in 2018. Every conversation he has with every player, I see the leadership. It’s no surprise to me when they announced he was going to be the captain because I feel and I know all of the boys already felt like he was our captain years ago.”
“You realize from the moment you meet him that he’s different. The coolest thing is just you see him come on the scene in ’17 and you only have a TV and outside perspective of him. You get to be on the same team and understand the ins and outs about his personality and how he goes about his business. It’s cool to see someone who has the same attributes. For example, our swings, we have long arms, long limbs and big bodies. We have two different ways of attacking the ball and being successful. It’s cool to see a different approach with the same type of body. I didn’t know until not too long ago that I was one of his favorite players. It’s definitely cool. When I first came up, I had an open stance and very similar to his. He’s a little lower now. I’m sure we see a little bit of each other in one another. We both play right field. We both have home run pop. He’s a cool doppelgänger.”
“One of the things that I can pinpoint besides him being a great person, a great teammate and everything you could possibly want, one of the things he’s done over the years, especially with younger guys who come into the clubhouse for the first time, he’s there to greet them, prepared to chat and ask them how they feel. He makes it pleasurable. If they need anything or if they have questions, he makes himself available. I’ve seen it with all of us at some point. For me, especially last year during some rough times I had pitching, he was there for me. He told me I’m one of the better pitchers we have in the bullpen. I know you’re going to get out of it. Just keep fighting. I know you’ll be able to do it. He’s that kind of person.”
“I just think he’s not afraid to say what needs to be said. He’s got a pretty good pulse on the team and how everyone’s feeling. It takes a special person to confront those challenges and adversities and have someone speak on it to put everyone’s mind at ease. It’s a rare quality to have and he’s got it. Every team has got those moments where something needs to be said and he’s not afraid to step up to the challenge.”
“I think his best quality is even though he probably knows he’s the leader and everyone follows him, what gives him that title is he doesn’t make decisions on who he is or what his name is. He likes to test the waters and see what people are feeling about certain things. He wants to know everyone’s opinion on important decisions we have to make. Even with small things like what music gets played. He asks us if we’re OK with the music being played. He’s not like, ‘I’m the leader. I’m the captain. F-you guys. I’m playing whatever I want.’ He helps diversify the music with the clubhouse we have. He plays Spanish music. He plays Bad Bunny. He plays rap, hip-hop, country. It’s a small thing but it’s those little things that show you who he is. Everyone knows what kind of baseball player he is, but the fact that he doesn’t want to step over anybody and make anyone feel like they’re less important than him is what makes him special.”
“Sharing the 62 (homer) game, I got to share my history with him
(Cole set the franchise’s strikeout record with 257 last season.) That’s my favorite moment. He just loves the Yankees. He loves the game. He genuinely loves being the captain in every aspect that comes with it. When he has those conversations with people, those teaching moments, those learning moments, introductory moments, people are probably just struck by the genuineness of him. I think it’s something unique to experience when you get close to him.”
Aaron Judge with Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. (Brad Penner / USA Today)
“The first time I walked into Yankee Stadium, I barely knew anybody on the team because I got traded the year before and didn’t know anybody in the Triple A, big leagues level at the time. I didn’t have a big-league camp. I had no interaction with any of the big-league players. I walk into the clubhouse and the training room is right in front and he was on the table getting work done. As soon as he sees me, he gets off the table, runs up to me, daps me up and says, “It’s about damn time, Kinger!” He treated me like a superstar like he is. Having the superstar on the team treat me like that made me feel so much more comfortable. I’ve always thanked him for that. He treated me like his best friend and like I should be a part of this team. It made me feel like I fit in here.”
“Everyone sees the interviews and how engaging he is. People could easily look at it and be like there’s no way he’s like that every day and every time. When you meet him and are around him a lot, he’s genuinely putting a ton of effort into you. He pours into the conversation. He’s very active and engaging in everything he does. He’s uplifting. If I had a good outing last season, he’d be the first person to come up to me after the game, dap me up and tell me great job. If you had a bad one, he’s the first one to tap you on the leg and be like, ‘Bro, we got you. Keep your head up.’”
“He’s been the face of the franchise. What he does behind the scenes as far as preparation, coming in every day and being the same person whether he has a really good game, a good week or a bad week, you’d never know. He comes in with the same energy every day and it’s a huge quality to have in this game. There’s not like one moment though that sticks out. You meet a ton of people in baseball and there’s always going to be people you naturally talk with more and he’s one of them for me. It’s not like ‘Mean Girls’ like, ‘Ooh, this guy is going to be my friend!’ I don’t care what he looks like, at least for me it doesn’t matter. That’s my guy.”
“When you’re a captain, there are so many qualities that you need to have. At the forefront, the level of respect with which he speaks to people. You can see how much he cares and you know it’s genuine. That’s how it’s always been with me and people around here in the clubhouse. When I came here to the Yankees, he greeted me and welcomed me into this clubhouse. That’s the kind of person he is. He cares about you. He cares about your family. He cares that you find yourself in a good spot, regardless of how his day is going. That’s something I admire. I’m very happy to have him as a captain here. He makes everything better.”
“One moment I remember in Milwaukee when he was in the high 50s (for home runs). It had become a real thing then. There was a lot more media around, especially national media filling the clubhouse. He was the story of baseball. I was in the locker next to him in Milwaukee and it seemed like he had 10 things to sign from the other team. I remember seeing that and with all of the media around he never changed. I made a joke to him about it. I asked, ‘Does it annoy you having to sign all of this stuff for other players?’ And he was like, ‘Nah. I love it.’ There was a license plate that was sitting on top of the baseballs and jerseys to cover it up. I was like, ‘Who is getting a license plate signed?’ He ended up signing the license plate for me as a joke and he put it in my locker. I still have it. He has all of this stuff going on and he’s still himself. The coolest thing is he never lost sight of his teammates. He was still the same leader in the clubhouse. It’s not easy to handle that stuff.”
“The biggest thing for me is he was always checking in with me. It’s nice to have someone of that caliber care about you. When someone cares about you and they ask how you’re doing, how’s your family and is genuinely interested in talking with you, it makes a big difference in how you feel. Last year in the beginning was tough because it’s a new place and you don’t know what’s going on. He made it really easy to fit in quickly. Another thing, he doesn’t care about his personal stats. He cares about winning. In August, he put the team on his back when we had a lot of injuries and were struggling. He wasn’t worried about the home run chase. He wanted to win games. In the clubhouse, he was uplifting guys even though we were terrible. That stretch was brutal. It’s not just one moment with Judge. He goes out of his way every day.”
“He wanted to get to know me as a person right away. I came over late in spring and he’s trying to get ready for the season. He didn’t have to take the time to ask about my family, where I’m from and what I like to do off the field, but he did it. And this wasn’t just a one-time conversation. He’s asking me these things throughout the season. He wasn’t captain yet but as a captain, you want to get to know the guys in the clubhouse more and I’m new but he took the time to get to know me. It’s important, especially if you want to contribute, because you don’t want to be here just taking up space around guys like him.”
“What I learned from Judge, it’s what LeBron (James) says, ‘Stay present.’ That guy won too many things last year and had an incredible year. When I came to Tampa (in January), that guy was already here working. So I said to myself, ‘If this guy is the MVP last season and he’s already here, I need to be here earlier than him.’ But he’s an amazing person. I was with my dad and brother at the complex catching fly balls with Judge. My dad and brother were outside of the fence and Judge was at home plate. He asked me if that was my brother and dad. He started running to go meet my dad and brother outside of the outfield fence. Nobody does that. That’s a leader. It’s those little things that he does that will stay with me for a long time.”
“One of the games, I was coming back through the clubhouse after I pitched. He might’ve been using the bathroom or something. It was a tied game at the end of the game. I said something like, ‘Let’s get this done.’ He was like, ‘I got you.’ Two minutes later, you see him hit a walk-off homer. It’s stuff like that where it’s almost like a fairy tale. He says it and goes and does it. But he always makes you feel comfortable. You don’t feel like you have to impress your teammates because you feel like everyone has your back when the main presence in the clubhouse is behind you.”
“The one thing that stands out to me is on the very first day I was here, he came over and sat down to grab lunch with me. He was just there and made me feel very welcome. It wasn’t over the top. He didn’t make me feel like a superstar. He just made me feel like a new teammate and welcomed me into the clubhouse. I just really appreciated that and respected him for it because it was nice of him to do it. When you have your teammates reinforce why you’re here and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, it makes you feel more confident that the new environment you’re in is one where you’re wanted and desired for your talent. It felt really good for him to do that.”
Greg Weissert
“I’m sure everyone remembers my debut (
Weissert hit a batter on his first pitch in an August game in Oakland, then balked, then hit another batter on his second pitch. In all, Weissert threw 15 pitches, five of them for strikes.) Even since the first day I got up there, he’s been super easy to talk to. I had never been to a big-league camp. I had hardly met any of the guys before besides the guys I had played with in the minors. When I got up there, he treated me like I was part of the team right away. It made my assimilation into the big leagues so much easier because I felt a little more comfortable and not so on edge all of the time. During my debut, I was sitting on the bench and, obviously, it could not go any worse. He was sitting there trying to make me laugh it off and he was blocking the camera. Those little things go a long way.”
Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Volpe. (New York Yankees / Getty Images)
Anthony Volpe
“In my opinion, it has nothing to do with baseball. When I was a fan, it did. What goes a long way to us when we’re younger players in the minor leagues and we’re grinding through it all is when someone like him makes us feel welcome.”