Earlier this year, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge opened up on why he loves signing baseballs for fans in the MLB.
In a chat with Audacy in August, 'All-Rise' cited a childhood experience that made him realize the importance of signing autographs for young fans.
He said:
"I’m sitting there with my Giants hat, we were screaming and trying to get guys to sign. Everyone’s walking by, and then (Jonathan Sanchez) saw me and my buddy and made eye contact. He kept walking too, but then he stopped and came back and signed our hats … it’s something I’ll never forget."
Judge continued:
“When there’s time, if I don’t have a meeting or something else to get to…it doesn’t take five minutes or ten minutes, it takes 30 seconds to sign a baseball and say hello and move on. So when I have it in that perspective, that it’s only 30 seconds – what’s 30 seconds in my life when that kid might have a memory or something he might cherish for the rest of his life?
Judge has made a huge impact for the Yankees since making his debut in 2016. Alongside winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2017, the 30-year-old has improved in every department while scripting history this year with 62 homers, breaking Roger Maris' record set in 1961.
Aaron Judge responds to boos after 4th four-strikeout game
Aaron Judge's woes with the bat continued during the 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. After the game, Judge revealed that he wasn’t surprised by the reaction from the home fans after a disappointing start to the series. He said via SNY:
“Not at all. It happens. It’s happened many times in my career here. There’s nothing I can do. I gotta play better. That’s what it comes down to. Didn’t do the job tonight, especially as a leadoff hitter, I gotta get on base. I gotta make something happen on the base path. I didn’t do that tonight.”
The series is currently tied at 2-2, after Gerrit Cole held Cleveland to two runs over seven innings, helping the Yankees force the Guardians into Game 5 of the ALDS. Judge will aim to revive his regular-season form as he looks to get the Yankees over the line in what has been a disappointing series so far.