Aaron Judge was named Yankees captain in 2022. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner announced the decision on December 21, 2022, one day after Judge agreed to return to New York on a nine-year, $360 million contract.
Judge became the 16th captain in Yankees franchise history and the first since Derek Jeter retired after the 2014 season. The appointment followed the greatest season of Judge’s career to that point: he hit 62 home runs, breaking Roger Maris’s American League single-season record, and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
The captaincy is largely ceremonial in modern baseball, unlike its earlier role as an on-field position of authority. Even so, the Yankees’ captain carries major historical significance because the position has been held by figures such as Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson, Ron Guidry, Don Mattingly and Jeter. Judge’s appointment formally linked him to that celebrated succession.