One and done, Home Run Derby champion. It was a cool experience. I enjoyed it all, but I don't think I really need to go out there and do it again.
— Aaron Judge
The mental game is what separates the good players from the great players. So anything I can do to get that mental edge to help me stay my best, I'm gonna try and do it.
I just felt like Adidas was a brand that really fit me. Not only are they on the field, but off the field stuff.
I know a lot is expected of me, but I'm surrounded by some great teammates.
Everything I do, I'm always playing music. When I wake up in the morning, I'm playing music. When I'm showering, I've got music playing. When I go to the field, music is playing.
In my early work, my time in the batting cage, that's serious, and that's when I feel like I'm really working. That's where I have to lock in on my approach, make sure my mechanics are right, and make sure my mindset is right for the upcoming game. But then, when the game comes up, it's a game! You're supposed to have fun when you play games.
If I'm sitting at home playing video games, and I've got a couple of minutes to myself before bed, I'm listening to music and putting a couple of playlists together. I'm passionate about music.
I just like music.
When you go to college the first couple years, and you kind of get beat around, you kind of think about, 'Maybe if I went to pro ball, it would be a little bit better.' Now that I look back on it, I made the right choice.
The ups and downs, that's baseball life. That's what I live for, play for.
I love the city of New York. It's kind of fun. I grew up in the country, so I'm getting a little change of pace. The city has been great.
You're always still trying to win a job. That's everyone's mindset: come in here and fight for your job, win a job.
Even in the Minor Leagues, I thought you have to go out and earn a spot. Nothing is ever given to you.
Being around veteran leaders such as CC Sabathia and Brett Gardner really helped me.
I talked to a few schools about playing football, but I had already pretty much made my mind up. I fell in love with baseball at a young age, and I knew that that's what I wanted to do.
Sometimes you've got to tip your cap when they're painting stuff on the corner. But you can't give up, got to keep battling and make some adjustments.
I think it was like, 'I don't look like you, Mom. I don't look like you, Dad. Like, what's going on here?' They just kind of told me I was adopted. I was like, 'OK, that's fine with me.'
I have a short time to play this game. I'm trying to get every ounce of it out of my body.
For me, all my negative thoughts that I have about, 'How did you miss that pitch? Why did you miss that pitch? You shouldn't have missed that pitch.' I just kind of sit there and kind of crush it up, and once I'm done doing that... I just kind of toss it aside.
The biggest thing for me is I want to be consistent.
They just brought it up to me and said, 'Hey, this is what we're going to do.' They're going to put out a section and call it Judge's Chambers and give them little judge outfits, and we'll see what happens. I think it turned out great.
If your team is in the trenches, you've got to be in the trenches with them.
It doesn't really matter the score or the situation: I got a job to do.
Music, I feel like, affects people's moods.
The biggest thing is, you don't hit the good sliders; you just hit the mistakes. That's what my thing has always been: Just keep hunting mistakes.
That's your dream, to play professional baseball. When you get the opportunity like that, getting drafted - especially by Oakland, a California team, pretty close to home - it was tempting. At the time, I just didn't think I was ready or mature enough mentally or physically to start pro ball.
You never hit a good slider or curveball; you just try to go after the mistakes.
A lot of people love to watch the Yankees.
If I'm making consistent contact, even if they're outs or right at somebody, if I'm just making consistent contact, I'm happy.
You have to earn your job every day.
When I think about 2017, I feel like it was just another year. It was a whirlwind, but I wouldn't have wanted it to play out any other way. I'm glad I was in New York. There's nowhere else I would rather play, and there's no other group of teammates that I would rather be around.
You define great players as guys that are out there grinding, battling every day with their team.
Any time you play shortstop or center field, the majority of the baseballs are hit in the middle of the field.
I know I wouldn't be a New York Yankee if it wasn't for my mom: the guidance she gave me as a kid growing up, knowing the difference from right and wrong, how to treat people and how to go the extra mile and put in extra work, all that kind of stuff.
My main focus is, 'What can I do today to help the team win the ballgame?' You have those blinders on. It helps you focus.
I just try and keep everything simple.
Pitchers made an adjustment to me. It's up to me to come up with an answer.
When you come to a game, it's supposed to be fun for the players and the fans.
I've always had that mindset of, 'OK, I may be hot this month or doing really well this month, but don't get too high, don't get too low - just enjoy it.' Don't ride the rollercoaster, basically. I always thought about it like, I'm not going to an amusement park, I'm going to a baseball field.
Defensively, hitting-wise, running the bases. There's always room to improve. That motivates me to get a little better every day.
If you have a good music tone of the day, it puts everybody in the right mindset.
If someone throws you a good slider, you're not going to hit it. You've got to always hunt those ones that kind of pop up or hang thigh-high or up.
To a certain extent, I enjoy failure. It's part of the game. There's always room to grow; there's room to improve.
Once it gets to two strikes, it's time to battle, put something in play, and try to get the job done.
The New York Yankees' organization - they train us well from the get-go. They tell us how to handle everything.
Just being in a video game is an honor, and being on the cover, I can't really describe it.
Fighting for a job - that's been my mindset every Spring Training.
I had a lot of fun playing football and basketball, but deep down, the chess match or cat-and-mouse game between the pitcher and batter in baseball really drew me in. It's a thinking man's game, and for me, nothing can compare to that.
I've just got to stay patient, take my walks when I can, hunt the mistakes, and get on base.
You have to have a great fielder at shortstop, and you've got to have a guy that has good range and good hands in center field.
