All rise for Aaron Judge, the 16th captain of the New York Yankees. A legend in the making, the 30-year-old has proven time and again how eager baseball makes him. An outstanding batter, a pro as an outfielder, and now, the leader of the Pinstripes. But for a while there, Judge’s future was up in the air, ready for teams other than the Yankees to grab.

Set to hit free agency after the 2022 season, the 30-year-old tried to imagine his future with teams like the Padres and Giants. Given his talent, the number of suitors was endless. But Judge knew he wanted to be a Yankee for life and now that wish just might come true. However, a shiny new contract doesn’t mean he’s going to take it easy or shirk his responsibilities in the slightest. In fact, now that he’s captain, All-Rise aims to work harder than ever because the seriousness of the mantle is not lost on him.

Aaron Judge seems a little overwhelmed as he talks about the Yankees’ captaincy

When an interviewer from YES Network asked Judge if anything changed this year after his new nine-year contract, Judge looked visibly overwhelmed, but in a good way. He gave a little smile and said, “It’s tough to say. Being captain of the New York Yankees is a big responsibility and I don’t take that lightly. I just wanna go out there and continue to do what I’ve done the past couple of years to get me into this position.”

Much in the vein of Derek Jeter, Judge has characterized himself as a hard worker who puts his sport first. He’s always ready to come out onto the diamond and give his best. His natural talent and sportsmanship are exactly what led the Steinbrenner family to elect him as the next captain. He also gave some insight into what the Yankees might look like under his leadership amid MLB’s rule changes.

Judge will evolve as the sport of baseball evolves

MLB’s new rules have been giving some unwanted trouble to players this spring training. As teams adjust to the shorter timings and pitch clock, every little thing will have to be kept in mind. But fans can count Judge amongst the supporters as he hopes it will help not only the team but himself grow.

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“As this game evolves and as this game grows, you gotta adapt and grow with it. So these next couple of years I’ll continue to try to grow and try to stay at top of my game and continue to lead the Yankees. I’ll lead them to a championship this year and many more,” the outfielder told YES Network.

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Fans are certainly excited to see him in this new role!