"March & April were not my friends this year" - Aaron Judge's wife Samantha chuckles as Yankees slugger reflects on his second AL MVP win

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge had his better half Samantha Bracksieck by his side during the AL MVP announcement on Thursday. The slugger won the award unanimously over runner-up Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and free agent Juan Soto.

This comes as a surprise after the sluggish start the Yankees captain had earlier this year, hitting only .197 around as late as May 2. However, since then, Judge turned around the stats, taking a lead in homers. By the end of the season, he was leading the majors in homers (58), RBIs (144), OPS (1.159), walks (133), times on base (322), game-winning RBIs (24) and position player fWAR (11.2).

Joining the MLB Network and discussing his season, there was one moment that even led his wife Samantha to chuckle. It was when he discussed his dismal April and May performance.

“March and April were not my friend this year,” Judge said. “It’s just a testament to [the fact that] it’s a long season. You’re going to go through some ups and downs. It’s just about leaning on your teammates, on your family. Just put in the work and things are going to change. You can’t mope, you can’t feel sorry for yourself.”

If not for Samantha Bracksieck, Aaron Judge may not have been with the Yankees

Samantha Bracksieck has played an important role in making sure Aaron Judge stayed with the Yankees. After a historic 2022 season, where Judge broke the record in the AL for most home runs in a season, he entered free agency.

Both the Yankees and Judge were interested in signing with each other, but the conversation was not moving forward. This bothered his wife, who then straight up asked Judge what his heart said.

Recalling the conversation about it on the “Casa De Klub” podcast, Aaron Judge said:

“It’s funny. I was in California. Sam and I were headed to Hawaii to celebrate our [wedding] anniversary. We had a flight at 8 a.m., so 2 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock, we’re just staying up … we’re going back and forth about different offers from different teams.

“‘What do you want to do?’ And I’m telling her, ‘I want to stay in New York. I don’t want to go anywhere else.’”

As directed by Samantha, Judge picked up the phone and called owner Hal Steinbrenner on his desire to remain with the Yankees.

“And he’s like, ‘That’s it?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah’ — and he’s like, ‘Alright, sounds good,’” Judge said. “And then all of sudden he’s like, ‘Oh, by the way, we’re also going to make you the next Yankees captain.’”

The next thing we know, not only did the club sign Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360 million deal but also made him the Yankees captain, filling the post left by former captain Derek Jeter in 2014.