New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge had a season for the ages in 2022.
Judge catapulted himself into the discussion as to whether or not he is the real single season home run king as he belted 62 home runs last season. He won the AL MVP award and a Silver Slugger for his performance as he set an American League and Yankees team record for homers.
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge still receiving accolades
Judge has not stopped with those awards. He received a new contract with the Yankees, a nine year deal worth $360 million that made him the third major leaguer, and first position player, to average at least $40 million per year on his contract. Additionally, he is set to become just the 16th captain in franchise history, an honor bestowed upon some of the greatest players that have ever donned the pinstripes.
Those honors continued on Friday as he was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. As was the case with the AL MVP award, Shohei Ohtani came in second, while Stephen Curry finished third.
In general, the AP Athlete of the Year award is overlooked. That is especially the case when it comes to baseball players and the slew of hardware given out by Major League Baseball. The award does not have the same attention as those handed out by MLB, perhaps because it is not exclusive to one sport. Yet, due to that nature, it is all the more impressive as Judge had to defeat players from every league in order to take home this honor.
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge took home another award on Friday. He was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for 2022.