"Samantha & I were headed to Hawaii" - When Aaron Judge recalled big Yankees moment during romantic getaway with wife

Aaron Judge re-signing with the New York Yankees was one of the rare moments when a free agent reunited with his original club. The Yankees bestowed him with the team's captaincy and made him the face of the organization but many were unaware of the background of the call that made it happen.

Judge was coming off a record-breaking 2022 season where he set the American League record for most home runs with 62. During the season, he had rejected an extension from the Yankees. When his free agency started, he was heavily courted by the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres.

However, the outfielder wanted to stay in the Bronx. The final decision between him and the club came on his anniversary trip with his wife Samantha. Judge appeared on the "Casa de Klub" podcast on July 9 where he detailed the exchange between him and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner.

"It’s funny, like I was literally in California," Judge said (14:45). "Sam and I are headed to Hawaii to celebrate our anniversary. We’re staying up, planning to drive to the airport. We were going back and forth with different offers from teams, trying to figure out what we wanted to do. I told her, 'I want to stay in New York. I don’t want to go anywhere else.'"

His wife requested him to relay his wish to the team, and within a few minutes, the deal was finalized.

"The conversations in New York weren’t really going anywhere, so she told me, 'Just call them up. Tell them how you’re feeling, tell them what you think,'" Judge said. "So I shot them a message. I think [Hal] was overseas on a family vacation or something."

"So we called him. I laid it out — 'Hey, I want to stay. I don’t want to go anywhere else. If you can add just one more year to the deal, I’m good. I’m not asking for anything more. I just want one more year. I want to play this game for a long time.' He said, 'That's it?' I said, 'Yeah.' He replied, 'Alright, done. Sounds good."

Aaron Judge rejected two major contracts from west coast clubs

Aaron Judge chose the Yankees over the Giants and Padres, not only for the money but because he saw himself as a major player in New York's lineup. He had reportedly received a 12-year $415 million offer from the Padres while the Giants were the first team to offer Judge the nine-year $360 million deal. The Yanks matched it and were able to lock up their captain.

Judge remains the highest-paid player in New York Yankees history after they missed out on signing Juan Soto. The Mets got the outfielder who had partnered up with Judge in 2024 to form a formidable duo. The Yankees reportedly offered $760 million to Soto, a full $400 million more than what they agreed to with Judge in 2022.