Saturday, February 22

TAMPA, Fla. -- Aaron Judge is coming off his second Most Valuable Player Award in three years, having belted 58 home runs to power the Yankees into the postseason. Now the American League must contend with the captain’s “Dad Strength.”

Judge and his wife, Samantha, welcomed their first child this past offseason, as the couple announced the Jan. 27 birth of Nora Rose Judge.

“It’s been great. It’s one-of-a-kind,” Judge said. “It’s definitely a blessing. People try to prepare you for it or give you stories or tell how it’s going to be. It’s an out-of-body experience, but we’re loving it.”

• Yankees Flex Plans: Create a customized ticket package and save

After a year in which he established career highs in batting average (.322), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.701), OPS (1.159), hits (180), doubles (36), walks (133), times on base (322), total bases (392), extra-base hits (95) and games played (158), Judge said he may draw something extra from having a little one at home.

“That’s what it’s all about right there,” Judge said. “I play for this city, I play for the fans, I play for my family. But now I have a little girl, and I have a chance to have her grow up and watch me do what I love. If there’s any way I can inspire her through playing this game to do something special, that’s going to be pretty cool.

“It’s more motivation. You know, I’m getting older. I don’t want to be the old man here in a couple of years. [I need to] stay on top of my game. So she’s definitely going to motivate me and keep me on my toes. It’s going to be a fun couple of years, for sure.”

Judge, who turns 33 in April, is entering the third year of a $360 million deal that runs through the 2031 season -- yes, little Nora Rose may be in kindergarten when the Bombers inevitably hold “Aaron Judge Day” in front of a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium.

Before then, though, Judge has unfinished business. He has said the World Series loss to the Dodgers will stick with him forever, including the Game 5 meltdown that included his first error as a Major League center fielder.

• 'Airbender' wowing at Williams' first Yankees camp

Surveying his clubhouse, Judge senses the 2025 Yankees came in with a “hungrier” attitude as they look to “rewrite the script,” leaning upon a renewed roster that includes left-hander Max Fried, right-handed closer Devin Williams, outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

“Getting a chance to nibble on that final piece, trying to get close to a championship, I think that just really drives the hunger and passion of the guys,” Judge said. “Guys were checking up all offseason on certain guys: ‘How you doing? What’s going on?’ And they were ready to go a couple weeks after the season was over.

“It was like, ‘Hey, I can’t wait to get back down there and get this thing rolling.’ So it’s going to be a fun year to watch a lot of guys continue to take another step. We’ve got a lot of young guys on this team besides the additions we have. It was a good experience for a lot of those guys last year; you go from one season where you end [after] 162 and then another one where you’re going all the way to the end.

“They got a taste of that, and they know which one they’d rather have.”

15 Yankees Spring Training home games will be broadcast on the YES Network and the Gotham Sports App (watch on MLB.TV), beginning with Friday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Rays at 1 p.m. ET.

No Yankee has finished a season with a batting average over .400 while qualifying for the batting title. Who came the closest?

A. Joe DiMaggio 

B. Lou Gehrig 

C. Mickey Mantle 

D. Babe Ruth 

Feb. 20, 1996: The Yankees signed Dwight Gooden to a Major League contract, marking the right-hander’s return to the Majors after missing the previous season due to a drug suspension. Gooden’s comeback would include the ninth no-hitter in franchise history, tossed on May 14, 1996, against the Mariners. 

D. Babe Ruth

Ruth batted .393 in 1923, when he paced MLB in runs (151), homers (41), RBIs (130), walks (170), strikeouts (93), on-base percentage (.545) and slugging percentage (.764). Ruth didn’t win the AL batting title, though; the Tigers’ Harry Heilmann bested him by finishing at .403.

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