Aaron Judge is much more than just an incredible baseball player. The New York Yankees captain has been through a rollercoaster of life events to get to where he is today. The reigning AL MVP and holder of the most AL single-season home runs, Judge’s dominance of the game is unchallenged. But it wasn’t always so.

Unable to make it to the big-league club out of spring training in 2016, the outfielder did his best when he was called up in August. The next season then went into history books as one of the greatest for the Yankees, and a personal best for Judge. But as every athlete knows, slumps are a normal part of life. Even so, with all the grit he has developed by playing this sport, Judge looks back at his struggles with gratitude.

Aaron Judge Is All About Staying Humble

If one remembers their history correctly, they might recall that before he had debuted in the big leagues, Judge hit home runs in the initial two games with the Yankees and managed seven hits in his opening five games that followed. But the tables turned soon. He finished up the season with 42 strikeouts, which sums up to approximately three times his hits. It turned out to be a disastrous season. Aaron Judge was labeled as not ready.

But 2017 brought on a powerful change in the opposite direction as the outfielder went on to win a unanimous AL Rookie of the Year award. But he never took it for granted. Every time he is at a tough juncture, he looks at his phone’s notes app for motivation. “179—an acknowledgment of what he hit last season in his debut with the New York Yankees,” reads the message, as David Fischer mentions in his book, Aaron Judge: The Incredible Story of the New York Yankees’ Home Run-Hitting Phenom.

“It’s motivation to tell you don’t take anything for granted,” Judge says as he reminisces about his early days of struggle in 2016. He went on to add, “This game will humble you in a heartbeat. So I just try to keep going out there and play my best game every day, because I could hit .179 in a couple weeks” Fischer continues on page 113.

The captain may have once been a title for Derek Jeter, but Judge will soon make it his own.

The Rookie Managed to Turn the Tables in 2017

As someone who has seen both ends of the spectrum, extreme failure as well as success, Judge has aced managing failure. After he was faced with struggles in 2016, he managed to turn the tables around again in 2017. Skillfully, he raised his average by over 100 points, making 52 homers. The rest is history.

Read More: 7 Years After Captain Aaron Judge’s MLB Arrival, Yankees Find Themselves Below Rock Bottom While He Soars at the Top

This comeback went on to set a Yankees’ record for the most number of home runs in a single season. Despite the ensuing injuries in the upcoming seasons, Judge stood the test of time and has sustained his Zen. That is yet another reason to admire the 31-year-old Yankees Star.

Watch This Story: Top Five Home Runs By New York Yankees Star Aaron Judge