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New York Yankees ‘Captain’ $360 Million Aaron Judge Once Received a Special Gift From WWE Stars in Honor of Winning the Home Run Derby in His Rookie Year

Published 12/14/2022, 12:35 PM EST

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Aaron Judge has established himself as a centerpiece for the New York Yankees, a player that the Yanks can build around to win titles. Leave the Yankees! Thanks to his incredible consistency over the years, the reigning AL MVP has also become the face of the league.

Although he had a record-breaking season this year, the Yankees slugger had a memorable rookie season in 2017 as well. And he received a memorable gift from WWE stars.

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Notably, Judge ended up winning the AL Rookie of the Year because of his remarkable season in 2017. But that award was not the only honor that Aaron Judge took home that year.

Aaron Judge received a gift from WWE stars

Aaron Judge won the Home Run Derby in 2017 and became the first rookie in MLB history to win it outright. In honor of this and the then-upcoming SummerSlam, Alexa Bliss, Big Cass, and Braun Strowman presented Judge with a special gift. They gave Judge a special custom WWE title belt to celebrate the occasion.

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While handing Judge the belt, Big Cass said “Because of your incredible performance and the Home Run Derby this year. We’re gonna honor you the only way WWE knows how to honor a champion. And that’s with this custom title belt. For you, 2017 Home Run Derby Champion.”

Judge was surprised by the special gift and seemed genuinely happy to receive the title belt. The belt looked similar to a regular WWE title belt but had the New York Yankees logo on it to celebrate Judge.

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When talking about the HR Derby, Judge won it by 11-10, beating the Minnesota Twins’ Miguel Sano to take home the crown. And in doing so, became the first rookie to win it outright. Before Judge, the Angels rookie Wally Joyner was co-champion in 1986.

How many Home Runs did Judge hit in 2017?

Aaron Judge hit 52 Home Runs during the 2017 MLB season, breaking the MLB rookie record of 49 set by Mark McGwire. And the Yankee’s full-season rookie record of 29 that was set by Joe DiMaggio. But Judge only held onto the MLB record for 2 seasons before Pete Alonso hit 53 homers as a rookie during the 2019 season.

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Watch This Story: Top-5 Most Electrifying Home Runs By New York Yankees Star Aaron Judge 

Furthermore, Judge finished the 2017 season with the most home runs in the AL. The Yankees legend took home a lot of accolades during the 2017 season, as he also won the Silver Slugger award. What do you think of the gift that the three WWE stars gave Aaron Judge? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Written by:

Pranay Mukherjee

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Pranay Mukherjee is an MLB author at EssentiallySports. On completing his Bachelor’s in Mass Communication, he followed his passion for writing and started working as a content writer. His passion for sports has led him to sports journalism.
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Edited by:

Abhishek Kumar