Aaron Judge Bio
Aaron James Judge is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Born on April 26, 1992, in Sacramento, California, Judge is widely regarded as one of the most powerful hitters of his generation. He is a seven-time MLB All-Star and a three-time American League Most Valuable Player Award winner, having captured the honor in 2022, 2024, and 2025. He holds the American League single-season home run record with 62 home runs, set in 2022.
Standing 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 282 pounds, Aaron Judge is one of the tallest and largest players ever to appear in a Major League game. He wears uniform number 99, a number assigned to him during 2016 spring training. In 2022, the Yankees named him the 16th captain in franchise history, the first player to hold that title since Derek Jeter retired in 2014.
Early Life and Background
Aaron James Judge was born on April 26, 1992, in Sacramento, California. He was adopted one day after his birth by Patty and Wayne Judge, both of whom worked as teachers in the nearby town of Linden. He has an older adopted brother named John. Judge is biracial, and he grew up as a San Francisco Giants fan, rooting for a team in his home state.
Judge attended Linden High School, where he was a standout three-sport athlete. He played pitcher and first baseman in baseball, wide receiver in football, and center in basketball. As a senior, he was named Linden High School’s Athlete of the Year and earned team and league Most Valuable Player honors in all three sports. In baseball, he batted .500 with seven home runs and 32 runs batted in, while also going 6-0 with a 0.88 ERA and 65 strikeouts on the mound. He graduated in 2010 and was later inducted into the Linden Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Path to Major League Baseball
Several college football programs, including Notre Dame, Stanford, and UCLA, recruited Judge to play tight end, but he chose baseball. The Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round of the 2010 MLB draft, but he opted to enroll at California State University, Fresno, where he played for the Bulldogs in the Western Athletic Conference.
Judge starred at Fresno State across three seasons. He was named the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2011 and earned All-WAC First Team honors in both his freshman and sophomore years. In 2012, he won the College Home Run Derby and played collegiate summer baseball for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a junior in 2013, he led the Bulldogs in home runs, doubles, and runs batted in, earning All-Mountain West First Team recognition.
Aaron Judge Career
Draft and Minor Leagues (2013-2016)
The New York Yankees selected Judge in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft with the 32nd overall pick, a selection the team received as compensation after losing Nick Swisher in free agency. He signed with a $1.8 million bonus but missed the rest of the 2013 season after tearing a quadriceps muscle. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League, posting a .333 batting average and .958 OPS over 65 games before a midseason promotion to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.
In 2015, Judge split the year between the Double-A Trenton Thunder and the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, earning a selection to the All-Star Futures Game. He returned to Triple-A in 2016 and was named to the International League All-Star Team, though a knee sprain limited his participation. Across 93 games for the RailRiders, he batted .270 with 19 home runs, 62 runs scored, and 65 runs batted in, finishing the year primed for a Major League call-up.
MLB Debut and Rookie Season (2016-2017)
Judge made his MLB debut on August 13, 2016, starting in right field against the Tampa Bay Rays. In his first at-bat, he hit a home run off Matt Andriese, marking the first time in history that two teammates had homered in their first career at-bats in the same game. He added a home run in his next game, becoming the second Yankees player to homer in each of his first two Major League appearances. His debut season was cut short by a right oblique strain.
In 2017, Judge took the league by storm. He was named AL Rookie of the Month in April, May, and June, becoming the first player since Mike Trout in 2012 to win the award three consecutive months. He was voted a starter for the All-Star Game with 4.49 million votes, the most in the American League, and won the Home Run Derby to become the first rookie to capture the event outright. He finished the year slashing .284/.422/.627 with 52 home runs and 114 runs batted in, setting a new MLB rookie home run record, and was unanimously named the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year.
Injury Years and Recovery (2018-2019)
Judge struggled to stay on the field in 2018, appearing in 112 games. After a strong start that included a stint as a center fielder, making him the tallest and heaviest player in MLB history at the position, he fractured his right wrist on July 26 after being hit by a 93 mph fastball. The injury cost him nearly two months, and he finished the year with 27 home runs and 67 runs batted in.
In 2019, an oblique strain cost Judge the first two months of the season. He returned in late June and hit his 100th career home run on August 27, becoming the third-fastest player in MLB history to reach that mark. He finished the year batting .272/.381/.540 with 27 home runs and won the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for right field, tying for the major league lead in defensive runs saved.
New York Yankees Era (2020-Present)
The shortened 2020 season was another injury-interrupted campaign for Judge, who dealt with a right calf strain and finished with 9 home runs in 28 games. He rebounded in 2021, batting .287/.373/.544 with 39 home runs and 98 runs batted in, earning his second Silver Slugger Award and a Fielding Bible Award for his defense in right field.
The 2022 season cemented Judge as one of the great sluggers in baseball history. He led the majors with 62 home runs, 133 runs scored, 131 runs batted in, and 111 walks, finishing with a .311/.425/.686 slash line. On September 28, he hit his 61st home run, tying Roger Maris for the American League single-season record. On October 4, he hit number 62 off Jesus Tinoco, breaking Maris’ 61-year-old mark. Judge was named the 2022 AL MVP, the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, and Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year. Following the season, he signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to remain in pinstripes and was named the 16th captain of the New York Yankees.
In 2024, Judge captured his second AL MVP award by unanimous vote, leading MLB in home runs and OPS while becoming the fastest player in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs. That postseason, the Yankees won their first American League pennant in 15 years, though they ultimately lost the World Series. In 2025, he won his third AL MVP and second consecutive, adding his first career batting title to his list of accomplishments. He was also named captain of Team USA ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Notable Events and Milestones
Judge is one of only eight players in MLB history to record an OPS+ above 200 in three seasons, and he is the fourth player ever to produce four seasons with at least 50 home runs, joining Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire. In 2017, he hit a 121.1 mph home run, the hardest-hit homer tracked by Statcast at the time. He is one of only two MLB players since 2015 to hit multiple home runs measuring at least 495 feet. Judge also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2017, was named the cover athlete for MLB The Show 18, and guest starred on an episode of Rubble and Crew with his two pet dachshunds, Gus and Penny.
Aaron Judge Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Aaron Judge married Samantha Bracksieck in December 2021 at a private ceremony in Maui. The couple first met at Linden High School and both attended Fresno State University. Their first child, a daughter, was born in January 2025. Judge is a Christian, having grown up attending a Methodist church, and he has shared his faith on his social media accounts.
Judge is the founder of the ALL RISE Foundation, an organization dedicated to inspiring children and youth to become responsible citizens. His mother, Patty Judge, serves as the foundation’s executive director and president. In January 2024, the foundation hosted an All-Star Evening gala on Wall Street that raised nearly $800,000 for youth programs in New York City.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season marked another historic chapter in Judge’s career. He captured his third career AL Most Valuable Player Award and his second in a row, adding a first career batting title to his resume. Judge’s combination of power, patience, and run production continued to anchor the Yankees’ offense as he maintained his place among the most feared hitters in the game.
Beyond his individual accolades, Judge’s leadership was on full display as the Yankees captain. He was named captain of Team USA ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, becoming the public face of American baseball on the international stage. His role in promoting the sport, combined with his work through the ALL RISE Foundation, has positioned him as one of the most influential figures in the sport heading into the next chapter of his career.