Who Is Aaron Judge? (Who HQ Now)

Who Is Aaron Judge? (Who HQ Now)

Learn about the exciting record-breaking career of home run hero Aaron Judge in the Who HQ Now format featuring newsmakers and trending topics. Since making his Major League Baseball debut in 2016, Aaron Judge has taken the world of baseball by storm. He has won Home Run Derby competitions and has been named an All-Star. In 2022, he broke the American League record for most home runs in a season when he hit 62 homers. Young readers will learn about how Aaron became the star he is today after excelling in college baseball at Fresno State University and growing up playing football, basketball, and baseball. Get to know more about #99 on the New York Yankees in this nonfiction title perfect for baseball fanatics and young athletes. James Buckley Jr. has written more than fifty books for kids, including Who Is Tom Brady? and Who Was Roberto Clemente? Who Is Aaron Judge?   Fans of the New York Yankees really don’t like the Boston Red Sox. The two teams have been fierce rivals for more than a century. A Yankees fan’s two favorite teams are the Yankees . . . and whoever is playing against the Red Sox. If that is true, then why, late in the 2022 season, were fans at Yankee Stadium actually cheering for the Red Sox to score? This unusual situation came up because Yankees slugger Aaron Judge would get another chance to hit only if Boston tied the game . . . and he’d get another chance at tying an all-­time home run record. Yankees fans had been cheering for Aaron all season, and they hoped he would tie and break the record in his home stadium. Aaron appreciated their support. “Seeing Yankee Stadium on their feet for every single at-­bat [was amazing],” Aaron said. “They were booing pitchers for throwing balls [out of the strike zone], which I’ve never seen before.” Game after game in a short series of games, however, Red Sox pitchers avoided throwing Aaron good pitches. The fans booed that, too! In one game, the fans groaned in frustration even when Aaron hit a double—­usually something worth cheering. It wasn’t a homer, so it wasn’t what they wanted. In another game, fans in Yankees shirts shouted, “Let’s go, Red Sox!” as Boston tried to tie the score to force extra innings. (It didn’t work.) Finally, in the last game of that Red Sox series, the crowd went home sad and wet when Aaron didn’t hit a homer and the game ended due to rain after only six innings, three short of a normal game. That meant Yankees fans—­and baseball lovers everywhere—­had to keep waiting. Then, on September 28, he hit his 61st homer; that tied the American League (AL) and Yankees record set by Roger Maris in 1961. Roger’s son was in the stands in Toronto to watch that big moment. Aaron needed one more home run to break the record. The season was almost over. Would there be enough games left for him to break the record? Yankees fans held their breath as Aaron went into a home run slump! Game after game, he didn’t hit one out. In the Yankees’ second-­to-­last game, they were in Texas to play the Rangers. Aaron led off the game against right-hander Jesus Tinoco. On the third pitch, Aaron blasted a long drive (a ball hit a great distance) to left field. The ball flew on and on . . . and out! It was a home run, number 62 of the season! Aaron had done it! He was the new AL home run champ! Here’s the story about the amazing path from small-­town hero to big-­league superstar, the story of the rise of Aaron Judge.   Chapter 1 Finding A Family     On April 26, 1992, Aaron James Judge was born in Linden, California. Linden is a small farming community about ninety miles east of San Francisco. The town is famous for its cherry trees. When he was just two days old, Aaron was adopted by Wayne and Patty Judge. The Judge family already had a son, John, who had been adopted seven years earlier. Aaron’s parents were teachers, and early on they made him focus on education. Aaron had other ideas. “I wanted to go outside and play with my friends or play some video games, but they were tough on me,” he remembered later. “They’d say, ‘Hey, you’ve got homework to do. If you have time left over before dinner, you can go play.’ ” Aaron loved to play. There was not a sport he was not good at. He grew quickly and was soon among the biggest kids in his neighborhood. But as he grew, he also noticed that he did not look like his parents. Aaron was biracial, but his parents were white. When Aaron was about ten, he asked them about it. Wayne and Patty told Aaron that both he and John had been adopted. “I was fine with it,” he said many years later. “It really didn’t bother me because [they’re] the only parents I’ve known.” Aaron said that after they had that talk, he went right out to play! Later, Aaron said he felt being adopted made him appreciate his parents even more. “I have one set of parents, the ones that raised me. Some kids grow in their mom’s stomach; I grew in my mom’s heart.” Meanwhile, Aaron learned a lot about sports f