I HATE AARON JUDGE SPECULATION, BUT HERE IT GOES

You have a guy that just broke one of the most coveted records in baseball, the single season American League Home run record.  Judge bet on himself and is now in what is considered the biggest free agent market for him.  All eyes on him. He deserves that. He will get what he wants, within reason.  And the speculation about where he will go and what people think he will do is annoying and tired at this point. Read SPECULATION OF AARON JUDGE'S TEAM, YEARS IS ANNOYING & TIRED ALREADY, you will understand exactly how I feel.

But with that in mind, understand this; when it comes to common sense, you have to see how this should really shake down. First off, the home run record.  Think about this; in our lifetime and for some of you not, the home run record was broken by three New York Yankees.  

While the stadiums have been different over the years, and not all home runs are in our home stadium of the Bronx, Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Aaron Judge are the guys.  That's historic, but part of Yankee history.  One would ask, "Why leave Aaron? You are part of that rich history.", while others will say, "Leave Aaron, you already broke the record. Time to move on."

Then think about this; What are Aaron's personal feelings about the Yankees organization?  Does Aaron Judge want to be there? You can suggest that he was slighted by the Yankees. You can suggest that they didn't believe in him before the season and low-balled him. That would be accurate because let's be honest, before this season Judge was not consistent and got hurt a lot.  

2022 was a fluke when it came to Aaron's consistency and health.  Now you will ask "Is this 2022 player the player the Yankees always wanted?" Of course, he is. But they made an initial offer at the beginning of 2022 to Judge pooling all the data from before this season began. THAT WOULD BE FAIR AND ACCURATE.  And so, we go back to his feelings. Is Judge butt hurt by that?  Maybe.  But did Judge make an argument for himself after that? Yes, he did.

Then, we need to think about what he really wants. Does Aaron want to move on? Change of scenery, more challenges?  You have some MLB exec telling Jon Heyman: "He's going to leave the greatest market to go across the country to a team where it's hard to hit homers? Come on."  Well, what does an MLB Executive really know about what an athlete wants? Think about that. 

You have a rich baseball player playing a kid's game.  He can come and go as he pleases; he can challenge himself in new ballparks, with new fans. OR... he can stay safe, appear complacent with his giant contract and be a Yankee till the end of his career and just get paid.  By the way, challenges in a new uniform or staying in the Bronx... this guy is STILL going to get paid.  And so, what does it matter where he goes?  Now if he loves New York and his heart is in New York, that's a different story, and I guess that's where we are.

I'll tell you one thing; Jacob deGrom didn't want to a be in Queens.  There have been rumors about that for years. The Texas Rangers came up with a good number for a guy that hasn't exactly been healthy in his career, but when the guy was on, he was on. But in the end, this was about deGRom getting out of Queens.  He was done with the Mets... it wasn't for him.  Last night Twitter was in a tizzy because people claimed the Mets didn't get a chance to make a final offer to deGrom before he signed with the Rangers.  2 things to think about knowing what you know now about deGrom's decision; The Mets don't HAVE to get that courtesy. Secondly, deGrom made up his mind.  When it comes to free agency, while the courtesy is sometimes extended to their home teams, it's ultimately up to the player, and in this case, deGrom wanted out of New York. Again, new challenges, new scenery, new fans.

We don't know what Aaron Judge is feeling. 

What we do know is his season in 2022 was historic. But at the end of the day this is a business.  The Yankees made a pitch at the beginning of 2022 based on Judge's inconsistency and injury report as a Yankee but took into his account his accomplishments as well. That low-ball number as some would call it believe it or not, was pretty damn accurate because 2022 didn't even happen yet. My opinion is it was not a low-ball, it was business, and it was totally fair.  

But what happened next was historic, and it catapulted Aaron into another payment bracket. And so, the Yankees made their reported offer of $300 million and 8 years. Totally fair.  Now, the Giants can come back with $310 and 8 years and if I'm the Yankees, I quickly counter with $314 and 8 and an maybe even figure out a 9th year with incentives. Maybe it's a coach, player gig. Maybe they add Captain to his resume as well, but if I'm the Yankees, that's my limit because there is no way Judge can stay as good as he was in 2022 for the rest of his career. Sure, that's a guess, but I'm right. 

If the Giants go higher than that... I will suggest the Yankees say goodbye.  Why? Because it's business, The Yankees are in it to win it, but they're not stupid. 

Now if Aaron Judge deep in his heart wants to break down in San Fran, go for it. If Judge wants to be beloved in the Bronx for the end of his career, at least he will know he's safe. Why? Because he came back home. Trust me, his first home game in the Bronx in 2023 will be a thunderous standing ovation. That will surely feed his ego.  

But this is what has been in the back of my mind for months. The booing and the lack of class from our fans.  Now, you're going to think I'm crazy, but this stuff matters.  Remember something about Judge. The Home run record gets broken, historic and outstanding right? But this guy goes into the playoffs and struggles and was literally booed out of Yankee stadium for his performance.  If I'm Aaron Judge, I'm thinking about that every day.  

Now he's not the type to be like "Well I broke the record, and you treated me like shit", but it will be in the back of his mind.  Now you can say "He's big boy, he makes millions, he can take it." But my point is, you just don't treat someone like that.  I mean if this guy just sucked all year and continued to suck in the playoffs, all bets are off. He's impersonating Hicks at that point.  But he didn't. He had a monumental season, and we still rode the guy for a bad playoff.  Hitting home runs is hard.  He did something heroic. Yankee fans are often stupid. The game's brutal sometimes and he no doubt knew he was blowing it in the playoffs. But booing players is RIDICULOUS, and trust me, that is in the back of Judge's mind throughout this entire process.

But look, this is all speculation and guesses, the thing I hate the most.  Yet, this is where my head's out today.  I know, I know, I'm speculating. Well, it's hard to not do, but it buys me another week so we don't have to write about this every single day on Bleeding Yankee Blue.  If I'm going to bring you my thoughts, I might as well bring it to you just once a week, right?

Final note, don't forget to do your Christmas shopping at the BYB store. Low prices, great quality, and right now still guaranteed for Christmas. I currently own a Harrison Bader fan club shirt and a Bleeding Yankee Blue throw back. Both t-shirts, but I'm gonna buy myself the G.O.A.T. 3 gray hoodie next!  Do some shopping, support BYB! Thank you.