When Aaron Judge's potential was allegedly questioned by a Yankees scout owing to his empathy for opponents
If we look at 2.01-meter-tall Aaron Judge, the first thing that would come to mind wouldn't be soft. But this is exactly what Tim McIntosh revealed in a 2018 MLB interview:
"He's kind of passive; he's soft. He's the kind of guy that if he knocks you over, he'd let the play go down the court and help the guy up." said Yankees area scout Tim McIntosh.
As a high school freshman, Aaron Judge was already towering over most of his other classmates in a six-foot tall frame. Due to his height and liking of sports, the Yankees captain tried out different sports.
And because of Judge's abilities, he was able to get on the basketball, baseball and football teams of his high school. Judge was athletic and his body was perfect for any one of the sports he played.
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Aaron Judge walk off 💣
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However, he wasn't seriously considering any of the sports as careers and it showed in the way he played. Judge was a non-aggressive player who would help his fallen opponents despite the rivalry.
Despite this being considered soft by the Yankees scouts, many would say that it shows that even when young, Aaron Judge was a true sportsman.
When Aaron Judge was getting tired of sports
Aaron Judge, who has become a superstar in baseball, also played other sports in high school. In 2018, Judge said the following about the sports he played in Fresno:
"Once I committed to Fresno, I was solely focused on baseball. All the way through high school, I was playing three sports and just enjoying it; I wasn't too serious about any of them."
When Judge started playing for the Frenso State Bulldogs, he fully committed to baseball. During high school, he played three sports and was good in all three of them. After a while, though, he grew tired of other sports:
"To be honest, I would get tired of the sports. Once it got near the end of football, I'd say, 'I can't wait for basketball season to get here; I'm tired of getting hit every day...' It was a cycle. I think that helps me now, because it's still fresh for me; I'm not worn out from playing 8-and-under travel ball when I was a kid."
Aaron Judge has been named TIME Magazine's Athlete of the Year 💪 https://t.co/vGuthzFira
The outfielder admitted that it was because of all the sports he used to play back in high school that he still feels fresh. Aaron Judge is still invigorated when he plays baseball and wouldn't change it for anything else.