Judge predicted Giants tenure as high school senior originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Aaron Judge was a passionate Giants fan while growing up in Linden, Calif. As a senior at Linden High School, Judge made a prediction to his then-girlfriend, now-wife Samantha Bracksieck about his future playing baseball in the Bay Area.
“I said, in 10 years, I’ll be married to Sam and playing for the San Francisco Giants,” Judge recalled to Sean Gregory of TIME Magazine. “I was like, ‘That’d better not get out.’ “
Twelve years later, Judge is married to Bracksieck. He’s also a free agent for the first time in his MLB career, with the New York Yankees and Giants reportedly the frontrunners to sign the slugger to a lucrative deal expected to be at least nine years in length.
“When I was young and getting into the game, all guys ever talked about was, ‘Hey, wait until you become a free agent,’ ” Judge told Gregory. “You’re getting a chance to make your own decision, start a legacy somewhere, start something new somewhere. I’m looking forward to the whole process, man. It’s going to be special.”
Judge was back in the Bay Area over Thanksgiving weekend for a two-day visit with the Giants that included a dinner with CEO Larry Baer, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, manager Gabe Kapler and others. The Giants also put Judge in touch with Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who said he’s doing his part as a Boston Red Sox fan to lure the slugger away from New York.
Where do the talks stand as of Tuesday morning?
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“Those conversations are continuing,” Zaidi said of the Judge discussion Monday. “We’re just trying to put our best foot forward. The process continues, but obviously we have really, really strong interest and we thought it was a really productive visit.”
Nobody but Judge and his camp know which way the reigning American League MVP is leaning, but if you could ask 18-year-old Judge, he might be suiting up in orange and black next summer.