So, I hear that the New York Yankees’
Aaron Judge won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award.
After having a historic season where he broke the 61-year-old league home run record by swatting 62 into the seats, being in the Triple Crown chase—home runs, runs batted in, and batting average—the entire season, and for long stretches carrying the team on his wide shoulders, he deserved the award.
Congratulations!
But I am not getting excited over this, no way, no how.
Even though he plays for my favorite team, as long as he is a free agent, why should I get excited?
He may not be a Yankee come April, when the season opens, so a Yankee MVP playing for another team the season after he wins the award … ho hum. I will get more excited when the garbage gets picked up today.
Judge rejected the Yankees’ original contract offer before the past season began, betting on himself to make those numbers obsolete.
And he did just that, defining himself as Major League Baseball’s best player, a five-tool player who the sport can use as its face, just like it used Derek Jeter in that role years ago.
But since his contract situation is up in the air—can he get upwards of a $400 million contact, or maybe between $30 million and $40 million a year?—he is sort of in a gray area, a Yankee but not a Yankee ,,, until he decides what is the best contract for him and his family to agree to.
The Yankees will be no slouches here, and they have vowed to outbid everyone who tries to connect monetarily with the free agent.
But this might go beyond money.
Judge’s story is well known to even non-baseball fans.
He was adopted right after he was born—as was his brother—and this mixed=race kid was brought up in the San Francisco Bay Area by white, middle class parents.
He has no idea who his biological parents are, and at this stage of his life, he has said he has no need to search them out.
He is relatively newly married, and is very close to his parents and his adopted family, who just happen to reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The allure of the area—and his love as a kid for the San Francisco Giants—might be strong enough to pull him back home—even though he has said time and time again that he wants to be a Yankee “for life.”
And the newest wrinkle to all of this is that the Players Association is investigating a report that the Yankees and their cross-town rivals New York Mets are acting in collusion, based on a report on the Mets’ TV channel website, that the Mets will not make a bid to Judge because of “mutual respect” between the two teams.
In other words, the Mets’ owner, billionaire Steve Cohen, will not make and offer for Judge because he respects Yankees’ owner Hall Steinbrenner and does not want to upset the New York City apple cart.
The Players Association claims that this is collusion because with the Mets out of the bidding, Judge will not get a full value for whatever contract he eventually signs, because all 30 Major League teams won’t be bidding for his services.
I just think that this all is a cover-up by the Mets and their TV station, just in case the Mets don’t make a serious bid for Jidge and go elsewhere to fill their team’s holes.
This way, their fan base doesn’t get too upset if they don’t bid on him and don’t pry him away from the Yankees.
Nobody says you have to bid for his services—and there are plenty of teams that won’t for a variety of reasons—but when you have a billionaire owner, the Players Association feels that him sitting out because of “mutual respect” lessens the possible money Judge will get, so that is a no-no.
The begs another question: what amount of money is enough?
This is not Judge’s worry, but people are starving in this country, don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and he will be making between $30 million and $40 million a year to play a kids’ game.
When is enough enough?
That is the question that will be decided this off season.
Again, congratulations to Aaron Judge for winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award after an extraordinary season, but I can’t really get too excited at this point in time.
When he is a Yankee—if that even happens—then I will be happy.
Until that time … if that time comes … I have more important things to attend to.
Have a great weekend, and I will speak with you on Monday.
After having a historic season where he broke the 61-year-old league home run record by swatting 62 into the seats, being in the Triple Crown chase—home runs, runs batted in, and batting average—the entire season, and for long stretches carrying the team on his wide shoulders, he deserved the award.
Congratulations!
But I am not getting excited over this, no way, no how.
Even though he plays for my favorite team, as long as he is a free agent, why should I get excited?
He may not be a Yankee come April, when the season opens, so a Yankee MVP playing for another team the season after he wins the award … ho hum. I will get more excited when the garbage gets picked up today.
Judge rejected the Yankees’ original contract offer before the past season began, betting on himself to make those numbers obsolete.
And he did just that, defining himself as Major League Baseball’s best player, a five-tool player who the sport can use as its face, just like it used Derek Jeter in that role years ago.
But since his contract situation is up in the air—can he get upwards of a $400 million contact, or maybe between $30 million and $40 million a year?—he is sort of in a gray area, a Yankee but not a Yankee ,,, until he decides what is the best contract for him and his family to agree to.
The Yankees will be no slouches here, and they have vowed to outbid everyone who tries to connect monetarily with the free agent.
But this might go beyond money.
Judge’s story is well known to even non-baseball fans.
He was adopted right after he was born—as was his brother—and this mixed=race kid was brought up in the San Francisco Bay Area by white, middle class parents.
He has no idea who his biological parents are, and at this stage of his life, he has said he has no need to search them out.
He is relatively newly married, and is very close to his parents and his adopted family, who just happen to reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The allure of the area—and his love as a kid for the San Francisco Giants—might be strong enough to pull him back home—even though he has said time and time again that he wants to be a Yankee “for life.”
And the newest wrinkle to all of this is that the Players Association is investigating a report that the Yankees and their cross-town rivals New York Mets are acting in collusion, based on a report on the Mets’ TV channel website, that the Mets will not make a bid to Judge because of “mutual respect” between the two teams.
In other words, the Mets’ owner, billionaire Steve Cohen, will not make and offer for Judge because he respects Yankees’ owner Hall Steinbrenner and does not want to upset the New York City apple cart.
The Players Association claims that this is collusion because with the Mets out of the bidding, Judge will not get a full value for whatever contract he eventually signs, because all 30 Major League teams won’t be bidding for his services.
I just think that this all is a cover-up by the Mets and their TV station, just in case the Mets don’t make a serious bid for Jidge and go elsewhere to fill their team’s holes.
This way, their fan base doesn’t get too upset if they don’t bid on him and don’t pry him away from the Yankees.
Nobody says you have to bid for his services—and there are plenty of teams that won’t for a variety of reasons—but when you have a billionaire owner, the Players Association feels that him sitting out because of “mutual respect” lessens the possible money Judge will get, so that is a no-no.
The begs another question: what amount of money is enough?
This is not Judge’s worry, but people are starving in this country, don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and he will be making between $30 million and $40 million a year to play a kids’ game.
When is enough enough?
That is the question that will be decided this off season.
Again, congratulations to Aaron Judge for winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award after an extraordinary season, but I can’t really get too excited at this point in time.
When he is a Yankee—if that even happens—then I will be happy.
Until that time … if that time comes … I have more important things to attend to.
Have a great weekend, and I will speak with you on Monday.
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