Aaron Judge couldn’t stop smiling when he recalled his wife Samantha Bracksieck encouraging him to pursue a new Yankees deal before they agreed on a nine-year, $360 million contract in Dec. 2022.
During a recent appearance on the “Casa De Klub” podcast, the Yankees slugger explained that Bracksieck encouraged him to call team owner Hal Steinbrenner when conversations about his contract were at a standstill.
“I didn’t hear a whisper of it, not a word leading up to it [him being announced as captain],” Judge said when asked if the Yankees informed him of their decision prior to announcing it. “… It’s pretty surreal. For me, I never played the game to be that… to be the next captain. I just play to play. I play for my city, I play for the fans, I play for my family, I play for my teammates.
“… It’s funny. I was in California. Sam and I were headed to Hawaii to celebrate our [wedding] anniversary. We had a flight at 8 a.m., so two o’clock in the morning, three o’clock, we’re just staying up… we’re going back and forth about different offers from different teams. What do you want to do? And I’m telling her, ‘I want to stay in New York. I don’t want to go anywhere else.’
“The conversations with New York really weren’t going anywhere. She was like, ‘Call Hal, just call him up. Tell him how you’re feeling. Tell him what you think.’”
Judge explained that he “shot [Steinbrenner] a message” and the Yankees owner, who was on vacation overseas at the time, said to give him a call.
“So we call him and I’m just kind of laying it out there, like ‘Hey I don’t want to go anywhere. This is where I want to be if you can just add one more year to the deal. I’m set. I’m not looking for anything more, I just want one more year. I want to play this game for a long time.
“And he’s like, ‘that’s it?’ and I’m like, ‘yeah’ — and he’s like, ‘alright, sounds good.’”
Judge went on to say that he and his wife had the call on speaker phone and they were excited in the moment.
“And then all of sudden he’s like, ‘oh by the way, we’re also going to make you the next Yankees captain,’” Judge recalled, adding that Steinbrenner said he fit right in with former Yankees captains Thurman Munson and Jeter.
“I was more speechless about that than hearing about a nine-year deal. Sam was hitting me like, ‘you gotta brsaying something,’” Judge said, laughing. “It was special.”
In November, Judge supported Bracksieck after she finished the New York City Marathon, as seen in photos of the pair sharing a hug after the race.
The couple married in Hawaii in December 2021.
They are fairly private about their longtime relationship, but it is known that they dated in high school.