Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Judge was unanimously selected as the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017 and finished second in voting for the AL Most Valuable Player Award.Judge, who played college baseball for the Fresno State Bulldogs, was selected by the Yankees with the 32nd pick in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft. After making his MLB debut in 2016 and hitting a home run in his first MLB career at bat, Judge went on to have a record-breaking rookie season in 2017. He was named an All-Star and won the Home Run Derby, becoming the first MLB rookie to do so. Judge ended the season with 52 home runs, breaking Mark McGwire's MLB rookie record of 49 and the Yankees' full-season rookie record of 29 (previously held by Joe DiMaggio). His rookie record would stand for two more years when Pete Alonso broke it in 2019 with 53 home runs. He won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month Awards for April, May, June, and September, as well as the AL's Player of the Month Award for June and September, and then again for May of 2022.
