The biggest drama of the 2022 offseason turned out to not be that much of a surprise: American League MVP Aaron Judge agreed to stay in New York with the Yankees, the only team he's known since he was drafted in 2013. Judge's meteoric rise from first-round pick out of
The biggest drama of the 2022 offseason turned out to not be that much of a surprise: American League MVP Aaron Judge agreed to stay in New York with the Yankees, the only team he's known since he was drafted in 2013. Judge's meteoric rise from first-round pick out of Fresno State to his American League-record 62-homer season in 2022 helped earn him a massive nine-year, $360 million contract that gives him another impressive title: the highest-paid position player of all time.
Yankees fans could have only dreamed of that scenario when Judge took the field in April 2014 with the Class A Charleston RiverDogs, the Bronx Bombers' South Atlantic League affiliate that season. Judge wore No. 35 after debuting in Spring Training with No. 80 on his back. His number changed a few times over the course of his development -- he wore No. 49 with the Tampa Yankees, slid over to No. 47 in the Arizona Fall League and then No. 55 with Double-A Trenton before suiting up in his familiar No. 99 by the time he reached Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Take a look back at the journey that began in the spring of 2014:
Aaron Judge debut with No. 80 at the Yanks' Minor League Complex on March 20, 2014.Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com
Judge soaks in his first week in the Minors with Charleston on April 17, 2014 against Rome.Shane Roper/MiLB.com
Judges watches from the dugout on May 1, 2014 as Charleston takes on Augusta.Shane Roper/MiLB.com
The Charleston outfielder, batting vs. Lakewood here, wore No. 35 his first season.Ashley Marshall/MiLB.com
Judge plates two for the South in the 2014 Sally League All-Star Game on June 17.Tracy Proffitt/MiLB.com
The Yankees promoted Judge from Charleston to Class A Advanced Tampa on June 19, 2014.Cliff Welch/MiLB.com
Judge, seen batting against Bradenton on July 13, 2014, wore No. 59 with the Tampa Yankees.Cliff Welch/MiLB.com
The outfielder hit .283 with eight homers and 33 RBIs in 66 games with Tampa in 2014.Cliff Welch/MiLB.com
Wearing No. 47, Judge joined Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League after his first Minor League season.MLB.com
The Yankees sent Judge to Double-A Trenton to begin 2015. He debuted wearing No. 55.Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com
Judge, seen here in the dugout on April 29, spent about half the season in the Double-A Eastern League in 2015, hitting .284 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs in 63 games.Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com
As after a home win on June 18, 2015, the 6-foot-7 Judge wasn't hard to spot on the field.Rudy C. Jones/MiLB.com
New York promoted Judge to Triple-A on June 22, 2015 and the outfielder finally suited up in his now-iconic No. 99 for the RailRiders. He's seen here on June 29 at Lehigh Valley.Ken Inness/MiLB.com
Judge spent most of 2016 at Triple-A, hitting .270 with 19 homers and 65 RBIs in 93 games before his big league debut on Aug. 13. On April 8, 2016, he donned an unusual RailRiders uniform.Jim McGregor/MiLB.com
Judge bats at home for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 21, 2016.Jim McGregor/MiLB.com
Judge returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on a rehab assignment for a left oblique strain, bringing along fellow outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. The pair posed here on June 15, 2019.Chris Robertson/MiLB.com
Fans lined up for Judge's autograph during a rehab outing in Durham on June 15, 2019.Chris Robertson/MiLB.com
Wool E. Bull saluted Judge during the outfielder's visit to Durham on June 15, 2019.Chris Robertson/MiLB.com
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com.
