Baby Bombers by Bryan Hoch

Author:Bryan Hoch [Hoch, Bryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2018-01-09T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9.

All Rise

The concept of “The Judge’s Chambers” was first floated in the spring of 2017, during a time in which team officials were brainstorming avenues to make Yankee Stadium more appealing to a younger generation of fans. Work had already begun in the Bronx to add children’s play areas, terraces, and party decks to the facility, which was readying for its ninth year of service. Noting the popular response that Aaron Judge had received during the exhibition games in Florida, the Yanks’ decision-makers deemed a dedicated cheering section to be a logical next step.

Similar concepts had been successful in other ballparks, such as the Astros’ “Keuchel’s Korner” for ace Dallas Keuchel and the Mariners’ “King Felix’s Court” for standout pitcher Felix Hernandez. It may not have been groundbreaking, but it seemed that way for the Yankees, a team that had to fight the temptation of simply leaning upon their storied history to sell tickets. Though some would argue that there had never been a special section devoted to Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera, the willingness to innovate represented a refreshing change of pace.

Judge told the Yankees that he thought the idea was “cool,” but first, he had to actually make the team. It may seem difficult to believe in hindsight, given how sensational Judge’s rookie season turned out to be, but there was serious consideration given to having Judge begin 2017 in the minors. Since Judge still had minor league options remaining and Aaron Hicks did not, the Yankees decided to carry Judge on the roster only if he won the starting right field job, believing that a backup role would stunt his development.

“He never had a full year in the big leagues,” Cashman said. “He had competition that was legitimate with Aaron Hicks. Aaron Hicks had performed just as well for a period of time, if not better, for the first half of the spring. It was a tight competition. I’d say halfway through camp, Hicks was winning by a hair.”

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