Many of the values instilled in Aaron Judge during his formative baseball years stuck, a reality evident from how the New York Yankees superstar has navigated his seven-year career in the Bronx.
But the nickname given to Judge by his college coach, Mike Batesole? We’re not sure that ever really caught on beyond Fresno State — unfortunately.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan detailed Judge’s upbringing, Yankees tenure and impending free agency in a piece published Wednesday on ESPN.com. One notable anecdote relayed by Passan involved Batesole preaching the importance of putting the team first during Judge’s freshman year, soon leading to a nickname that’s as awesome as it is simplistic.
Here’s what Passan wrote:
What mattered, Batesole told his team, was not one person but 40 — the 35 players and five coaches. Judge embraced the essence of Batesole’s program and soon established himself as a favorite of the coaching staff. During fall conditioning, the team would play 5-on-5 touch football. In the first game, Judge’s team ran a wide receiver screen for him. He had played high school football, but nobody expected him to cut “like Barry Sanders,” Batesole said, this inimitable combination of size, quickness and agility. Batesole soon nicknamed him “Big Ass Judge” and still, to this day, calls him “Big Ass.”
A name like “Judge” lends itself to plenty of nicknames, with Yankees fans quickly gravitating toward the “All Rise” mantra that became even more popular as the 6-foot-7 outfielder rose to stardom in pinstripes. But “Big Ass Judge” — or, more succinctly, “Big Ass” — takes the cake.
It’s a real shame that never garnered national attention. Although maybe it will in his next stop, if Judge ultimately signs elsewhere on the open market less than one year after rejecting a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offer from the Yankees.
