Ranking Aaron Judge amongst all 16 New York Yankees Captains throughout club history 

It does not get much bigger than Aaron Judge. Earlier this month, Judge penned a 9-year extension worth $360 million with the New York Yankees, making him the highest-paid position player in history.

Days later, the team named Judge as their 16th team captain, in a move that lauded his leadership abilities. The Yankees have not had a captain since Derek Jeter retired from baseball after the 2014 season.

"List of Yankees captains per @NYT Sports. -Babe Ruth was only captain for 1 year, Gehrig for 4. There was an 8-year gap between Jeter and Judge. -Thurman Munson was the man and should be in the HOF" - @ Adam Zagoria

Derek Jeter is the biggest comparison for Judge. In his 20-year career, Jeter hit 260 home runs and collected 1311 RBIs. In 7 years of play, Judge has nearly eclipsed Jeter's total home runs. However, some have exalted Jeter over Judge for having won five rings before he turned 28.

Before Jeter, Don Mattingly was the captain of the New York Yankees between 1991 and 1995. Like Jeter, Mattingly was not known for his power but rather for his ability to hit. Mattingly won several awards over his career, including the 1985 MVP Award. However, by the time Mattingly became captain, the peak of his career was already past him.

Aaron Judge is all but guaranteed a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame, which would make him the seventh Yankees captain to go. Before Jeter, the last two Hall of Fame captains were Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Ruth was only captain for about a year in 1922, while Lou Gehrig only captained the Yankees for four seasons between 1935 and his retirement after the end of the 1939 season.

"Without Frank Chance, there could be no 'Tinker to Evers to Chance.' The Hall of Famer, who found success as both a player and a manager, was born on this day in 1876." - @ National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

It's difficult to compare Aaron Judge to the Hall of Fame captains of over 100 years ago like Frank Chance, Clark Griffith, and Willie Keeler. Although these men were exceptionally skilled in their time, the game has changed so much that comparisons are futile.

Aaron Judge hopes to kickstart a new era for the Yankees

Aaron Judge now has the World Series in his sights. As captain, he will be the critical foundation on which this highly skilled Yankees team bases their entire 2023 campaign. The team will have learned lessons from its NLCS sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros last season, so watch out for the Bronx Bombers next year.