When you view the term ‘MLB giant,’ who is the first name that comes to mind? Can it really be anyone other than the powerful Yankees captain and slugger Aaron Judge? No, it can’t. 6’7 tall Aaron Judge is amongst the tallest players in Major League Baseball, and definitely among the most powerful.

But this magnificent height and enormous size come with a cost. And in his early high school days, being in a humble, one-year, one-shoe family, the future Yankee captain’s speedily increasing height didn’t do his feet much good.

It wasn’t always easy pickings for Aaron Judge

In June 2022, Aaron Judge went sneaker shopping with Complex, which is when he made the massive revelation about his large shoe size (17) which was only relatively smaller than Kevin Durant’s 18, and significantly smaller than Shaquille O’Neal’s 22. At 3:00, Judge speaks about his shoe size, and how his mother allowing him only one shoe across an entire high school year became a giant issue for young Aaron due to his increasing foot size.

Aaron Judge first said, “I was a 17 probably I was in sophomore, in high school, which made it tough. And it was kind of funny. Growing up, you get one pair of shoes for the year. That’s what you wear to school.”

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He went on to speak about how his mother refused to believe that he was growing up, and said, “So I pick out the shoes, I want Jordan’s Nike. Also to be like halfway through the school year but mom like my feet are killing me. We got to go up the size. She said ‘no no no you’re not growing that fast.'”

The 6’7 giant is now the Yankees’ captain

At the age of 26, Aaron Judge hit the Bronx for the first time. And very palpably, the 6’7 Yankees giant has come very, very far since his MLB debut. After placing a massive bet on himself across his free agency in the 2022 season, the slugger moved to win the American League MVP award after breaking Roger Maris’ 61-homer record from 1961.

As a result of a splendid season, not only did Judge sign a whopping $360 million contract for nine years, but also got named as the first Yankees captain since Derek Jeter’s retirement in 2014.