New York Yankees fans react to Aaron Judge being named the 16th Captain in franchise history: "This is so cool and long overdue", "I'm crying"

The New York Yankees have named reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge as their 16th captain in franchise history. It is the team's first captain since Derek Jeter, who held the title from 2003-2014. The announcement was made during a news conference to make Judge's nine-year, $360 million contract official.

They couldn't have made him the captain at a more perfect time. With his new contract, he'll be a Yankee for the rest of his career.

It's quite an honor to have. The team is rich in baseball history, and they don't throw out the term captain lightly. Players have to mean a lot to the organization to even be considered for the role.

Fans couldn't be happier with the announcement. They believe the team made the right choice on this one. Nobody has meant more to the team in recent years.

"This is so cool and long overdue," one fan explained.

"I'm crying," said another fan.

While this title doesn't hold much weight for other teams around the league, it does in New York. His predecessors before him, like Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly, make the honor very important.

Now that they've officially re-signed Aaron Judge, New York Yankees fans are ready for the team to compete for a World Series title. Given their off-season, that's not a stretch.

Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees are ready to take the league by storm

Aaron Judge Press Conference

They've made some impressive moves in free agency. None more so than re-signing Judge alongside Anthony Rizzo. They also added another ace-type pitcher in Carlos Rodon to a six-year, $162 million deal.

They're building one solid rotation of starting pitchers. Gerrit Cole, Rodon, Nestor Cortes Jr., Luis Severino, Domingo German, and Frankie Montas round out the six-man rotation. A lot of these pitchers could make strong cases about being aces on other teams in the league.

They still have a hole in left field, though. They were linked to re-signing Andrew Benintendi before the Chicago White Sox signed him. Michael Conforto is an intriguing name that's still on the free-agent market.

The alternative would be for the New York Yankees to roll out Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks if they don't find another option. However, with Cabrera's inexperience and how much Hicks struggled last season, this seems like the last option for the team to fall back on.

Watch out for the Yankees to start seriously looking for a corner outfielder.