My goal every year is to come in and be consistent. It doesn't matter if it's the first game of the year or it's the last game of the year.
— Aaron Judge
My dad was my role model; he always did the right thing.
That's one thing that's a passion for me: teaching.
That mindset never changes. It should never change. If you've been in the league for 14 years or been in the league not even a day, you should have that mindset that you're going to go out there and prove yourself and earn a spot.
I'm not too worried about stats and stuff like that.
When I'm lifting heavy, doing squats, and doing upper-body workouts, it's mostly about core and stability. But I'll still do deadlifts. I also do tire workouts with these big 600-pound tires, flipping them and stuff like that.
One thing I really liked about David Winfield, man, just... the way he played the game, and such a class act he was on and off the field.
My dad played junior college basketball, and he always showed me clips of Michael Jordan.
I needed to go to college. I needed to mature.
This is a crazy game we play. You're going to have those times you can't get out, and those times where you can do everything right, and the ball does not fall.
The big thing is, it's about learning which off-speed pitches to swing at. A lot of people say, 'Oh, this guy can't hit a curveball; this guy can't hit an off-speed pitch.' But it's about swinging at the right one. Swing at the hangers. Swing at the ones you can handle.
I never want to play timid or scared of anything, especially when my pitcher or my teammates are out there going 100 percent.
In baseball, you have to remain calm, cool, and collected. In football, you can let out a little anger sometimes. It was a fun game, and I liked it, but I knew in my heart I was going to play baseball.
If I know it's going over the fence, I am going to start jogging and just get around the bases and get back in the dugout.
If I keep taking my good swings, swing at the right pitches, good things will happen.
For me, it's just about taking it one at-bat, one pitch, one play at a time.
I got a job to do on the field.
Repeating, trying to repeat success - it never gets easier.
Even though it feels like you are so far away from the big leagues, my love for the game kept me motivated to get through the hard times in the minors.
To put on the pinstripe - it's extraordinary. Just being able to play one game with the Yankees is quite an honor.
You can never come into the spring feeling like you've got a guaranteed spot. Once you do that, you kind of get stagnant, and someone's going to pass you up.
I just take it one day at a time, try to forget about what I did the day before. Go out there like every day is Opening Day.
I really don't like splitting my workouts into lower body one day, upper body the next day - that makes me I feel like I'm working out every day, and I feel like I'm more tired during the season than I need to be.
When I was in the West Coast watching the Giants, Rich Aurilia was a guy I always liked.
When I was younger, I'd always forget stuff. I think there was probably 4-5 times where we'd drive 30 minutes to a town for the baseball tournament, and all of a sudden, I'd get to the field and look in my bag, and I didn't have my cleats. So my dad had to race all the way home to get my cleats and get back before the game started so I could play.
Some guys, first pitch of the at-bat gets called a strike - maybe it's a ball off or below their knees, and it gets called a strike - and then the next two pitches, they swing at balls in the dirt, and all of a sudden, they're yelling at the umpire about that first pitch. You just swung at two balls in the dirt, buddy.
For me, the strike zone has always been, If it's something I can drive, it's most likely a strike. I feel like if it's a ball I really can't do much with, it's most likely a ball. So that's just always been my approach.
Ever since I got drafted by the Yankees, I've been working on my swing.
People strike out. I strike out a lot - it happens. Just got to keep working.
Ever since I was a little kid, that intrigued me. The game within the game was the biggest thing. A lot of people don't see the little things we do within a game.
If they are going to nibble and try to go below the zone or off the plate a little bit, I want to try and get a pitch in the zone that I can do damage on.
As a kid growing up in California, I collected autographs.
There should always be competition. You should never feel comfortable, no matter where you are at. If you are a 10-year veteran, you should not feel comfortable. For me, that kind of just drives me, that kind of unknown of what is going to happen. The unknown is kind of what drives me.
I just focus on what the team needs me to do to win.
When you're facing a different guy every at-bat, he's coming at you with his best stuff. There's no warm-up; there's no 'see a pitch.' You've got to be locked in from the very first pitch... The biggest thing is do your homework before the game starts.
44 is a number I really like.
I'd rather be in a good position in the playoffs and holding up a World Series trophy than holding up an MVP trophy.
I've just got to go in there and get some quality at-bats and do my job and help the team win any way I can.
I do a lot of planks. I feel like the plank is the most underrated core workout; that's one of my go-to moves.
During the season, I usually work out two or three times a week. I'll do a full-body workout after games. I plan it out the day of.
I kind of wish I would have been able to see the old Yankee Stadium after seeing the new one.
My dad told me, 'If you're going to go out there and play baseball, or you're going to play basketball or football, work hard at it no matter what. I want you to have fun with your buddies, but you have to put in the time because this is your craft.' He didn't just want me to be good. He pushed me to that next level.
That's why you get three of them. Say you get one that you don't think is a strike, and they call it on you: that's why you get two more.
When you're on the road, fans pay to cheer on their team and boo the other team; that's just part of it. That's what they're supposed to do. I expect it. I think everybody expects that.
That's what it's all about - postseason baseball.
Usually when you get on the sweet spot of the bat, you don't really feel it.
That's why we play. That's why we train. That's why we do everything in the offseason. It is to win a World Series.
There are some great pitchers in this league. You're going to get fooled sometimes. They're going to get you.
If my barrel meets the ball, I think good things are going to happen.
I think that is one thing I've picked up: follow a routine, be consistent, and everything is going to fall in place. If you are scrambling around, and you are late for stuff, that adds extra stress, and you have to go out there and hit a 97 mph fastball.