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In another life, Aaron Judge would have been a San Diego Padre. That's what the New York Yankees captain said in an interview with USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
Judge shared the story before the three-game, inter-league matchup against the Padres in San Diego. The former MVP revealed that he was offered a grand deal by late owner Peter Seidler when he hit free agency two years ago.
The Yankees captain remembered and lauded the late owner's kindness and passion for the Padres baseball club. He also boasted about the owner's positive impact towards the organization in general. Seidler died in November aged 63.
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"This is a true owner. This is a guy who cares about every single person from the cooks to the guy they’re trying to sign," Aaron Judge said. "He’s definitely missed over there. A very special guy," he added.
The all-star outfielder also revealed the mechanics of how he met with Seidler just a day before he eventually re-signed with the Yankees.
Aaron Judge also said that he secretly had a meeting with Seidler and former Padres skipper A.J. Preller at Petco Park on December 6, 2022. They had a conversation of around three hours where the former owner tendered him a 10-year, $400 million deal.
“It was a long time ago. I tried to keep it quiet, but when I walked around the streets, a couple of people got wind of it. It was tough to hide." - Judge via USA Today
Judge hinted that had not he been a cornerstone of the Yankees, he would have made a move back to his home state of California donning the San Diego Padres uniform.
“But man, I was very impressed by (Seidler). If we weren’t coming from the Yankees and the situation we have here, you never know."
A day after the meeting in San Diego, the then-reigning MVP would sign a deal with the New York Yankees worth $360 million across nine years.
Had Aaron Judge chosen differently during that fateful day in December 2022, we could have seen a Judge-Soto combo iteration not at the Bronx but on the West Coast instead.
Aaron Judge homers in his first appearance back in San Diego
With Aaron Judge's recent revelation, Padres fans couldn't help but wonder what could have been. The team could have had Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Judge but the offer fell through.
In his first appearance at Petco Park since he met the late owner Peter Seidler, Judge hit a no-doubter off Padres ace Yu Darvish.
"Aaron Judge and Juan Soto go back-to-back" - Talkin' Yanks
It was the third consecutive game that the Yankees captain hit a homer and was a part of an 8-0 shellacking of the Padres. The game also included blasts from Giancarlo Stanton and former Padres star Juan Soto on his return to his former club.
