Yankees' Aaron Judge names greatest accomplishment of Hall of Fame career

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge will undeniably go down as one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the storied franchise, and he likely is well on his way to becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer. 

While speaking at the Fanatics Fest event held in New York City on Thursday, Judge revealed that his proudest accomplishment has nothing to do with his personal stats. 

Aaron Judge: Being captain of the Yankees is "the greatest honor of my career"

As Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report shared, Judge said that he feels the greatest achievement of his career is that he is serving as captain of the Yankees. 

"It's the greatest honor of my career, by far," Judge explained. "The chance to be named the Yankee captain was probably my biggest career accolade."

Judge earned American League Most Valuable Player Award honors for the 2022 MLB season, and he later signed a nine-year, $360M contract to stay with the Yankees and become the 16th captain in the history of the franchise. He has since added two more MVP Awards to his career resume, and he began Friday sitting fourth in Yankees history with 385 career home runs. 

Aaron Judge on being captain of the Yankees: "You earn it every single day"

"It's not something you're just given once — you earn it every single day," Judge added about being captain of the Yankees. "Every time you show up for practice, every time you show up for a game, you're representing your team. But you're also being an example to everybody on your team, 'OK, this is how you prepare, this is how you work.' This is why you've got the 'C' on your chest, because of how you prepare and play the game. So for me that's the coolest part."

Of course, the one thing Judge hasn't yet done is guide the Yankees to a World Series title. The closest he came to doing so was in 2024, when the Bronx Bombers lost four of five Fall Classic games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Judge is currently working to return from a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side that has kept him out of the lineup since the end of May. He may not play in an MLB game again until some point in September.