Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is having a historic season. He is on his way to winning his first MVP award and is on pace to break a 60-year-old record, but after leading the Yankees to a win over the Boston Red Sox, would he consider playing there?
Following Tuesday’s 7-6 victory, where Judge hit No. 56 and No. 57, questions regarding his future with New York came up in the form of “if it doesn’t work out in free agency with the Yankees, is this a place you would consider?”
“Ooh,” Judge replied with his trademark smile. “We’ll talk about that at the end of the year.”
Would Judge sign with the Red Sox? That seems like an unfathomable outcome considering the history between the two teams, but as recent years have shown us, going from the Bronx to Fenway -- or vice versa -- isn’t out of the question as fans saw with Johnny Damon and Jacoby Ellsbury.
But this feels different. Judge is a product of the Yankees’ system and if he breaks Roger Maris’ American League home run record Judge would be firmly in the Bombers’ history books. But anything is possible after Judge declined a seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer from the Yankees on Opening Day, making him an unrestricted free agent once the season ends.
And in free agency, he’ll certainly get more lucrative offers from not just the Yankees but elsewhere, too, perhaps even Boston.
“It’s the best, they’re some of the best in baseball. They’re going to boo you, they’re going to say some things, they’re going to make you laugh,” Judge said of the Boston fans. “It’s all part of it. A lot of great history here, and this is one of the best places to play, so it’s always fun going out there and trying to put on a show for them.”