New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has redefined the team’s brand since arriving at the tail end of the 2016 season. Powered by prodigious blasts and a perfect smile, Judge has made himself the face of the Yankees since his 2017 breakout — and he carries that burden extremely well.
We’re not exactly breaking news here, but in addition to being an incredible athlete, Judge also seems like one hell of a man, something he proved again this week with an amazing gesture to a recovering cancer patient named Mason Ferrulli.
Judge and Ferrulli first formed a relationship last year, after the collector pulled an unbelievable Judge baseball card out of a pack — it’s fate, right?
Judge then arranged a meeting between the two parties when the Yankees came to Oakland, providing a jersey and some more valuable autographs to make the trip worthwhile.
Clearly, that wasn’t enough for the outfielder’s giving heart, as evidenced by what dropped on Tuesday.
Judge reconnected with Ferrulli over FaceTime to deliver him a message of hope, as well as something more tangible, dropping off a customized baseball card from the fine folks at Topps featuring a photo of their first meeting.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge provided a custom baseball card to a boy fighting cancer.
Now … how ’bout that extension/captaincy?
Judge’s future in pinstripes might not be assured or finalized at the moment, but if the Yankees are willing to chance upsetting him, they could easily get burned. His importance to the brand goes far beyond baseball, and if they anger their No. 1 ambassador, he might end up taking his unique charm and sense of the moment elsewhere.
For those who could use a refresher on how this all came full circle, both Ferrulli pulling the 1-of-1 logo card (one hell of a pull, by the way) and Judge meeting the family in Oakland were captured on film last year.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1431690402734563329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1431690402734563329%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tmz.com%2F2022%2F03%2F29%2Faaron-judge-fan-surprise-baseball-card-yankees-mlb%2F
Here’s to more of these life-changing moments with Judge in pinstripes for the long haul.
As the Yankees continue to search for championship glory, it’s gestures like this that remind you what the franchise stands for.
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