Yankees' Aaron Judge nails recalling MLB debut lineup, struggles with 2 ironic names

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge fully broke the mold in 2017, with one of MLB's all-time rookie seasons. His dominance that summer obscured the reality that he'd actually made his MLB debut back in the summer of 2016, when the Yankees really needed a boost of goodwill. Judge played just 27 games that season and knocked four of his 315 career-to-date homers before his campaign ended with an oblique injury. Odds are, if you can still remember Judge's 2016 season in your mind's eye, thw two things you recall are: his slightly different, less hunched batting stance, and the fact that he went back-to-back with a fellow rookie in his first at-bat.

Judge? He has a near-perfect recall of his MLB debut but, when put on the spot, he seemed to stumble over the game's most iconic element.

It can be tough to deliver under pressure, and credit where it's due here: Judge eventually got all eight lineup mates and the game's starting pitcher. Ask me about any individual noteworthy day from 2016, and I'm probably forgetting a friend or two who was involved, as well as at least one Secretary of State.

But it's objectively ironic that the only spots where Judge struggled momentarily were at first base and DH. DH? That was Gary Sánchez, a guess The Captain probably had in reserve for "catcher" -- he even quipped that they shouldn't show the video to Gary. First base? Even odder; that was Tyler Austin, the man he famously went belly-to-belly with to kick his career off with a bang.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge can remember every player from his MLB debut lineup -- but he struggled with two ironic names

He somehow nailed Jacoby Ellsbury? Just like that? Alright, then.

Judge and Sánchez shared an extensive history in the wake of his debut, starring together on the emergent Baby Bombers of 2017 before struggling to reach those heights once more from 2018-2021. After the ex-Yankees catcher was chased out of town, Judge continued to stick up for him as he regained his power stroke in Minnesota and Milwaukee. Maybe trading Josh Donaldson for him wasn't the right call after all. And maybe he would've stuck around longer if the Yankees had run back this "debut" lineup and been able to convert him to DH full-time earlier in the process.

Austin? That MLB debut home run was easily his top-tier highlight in pinstripes (No. 2 was fighting Joe Kelly). It was exceedingly memorable to all, and we're surprised first base wasn't the first place Judge thought of when he was trying to build out that 2016 lineup.

...Chase Headley?