YANKEES superstar Aaron Judge is adamant he made the right choice to reject his boyhood team and stay in New York.
Judge, 32, grew up just outside of San Francisco, California and watched the Giants as a kid.
The power hitter returned to the Giants’ Oracle Park this weekend for a series with the Yankees.
And he admitted he wondered what life might have been like had he decided to switch teams in free agency last spring.
The Giants were said to have been close to signing Judge off the back of his record-breaking 2022 season.
Judge hit 62 home runs to help the Yankees reach the playoffs that year but was a free agent afterwards.
But he agreed a nine-year contract extension worth $360 million to stay in New York.
Speaking to the New York Post, Judge admitted, “When you’re a free agent, you’re looking at all the different options and seeing how it’s going to turn out.
“It (San Francisco) would have been a great place to play, but I ended up staying with New York and I think it was the right choice.”
The Yankees’ trip to California this weekend marks the first time Judge has ever played at Oracle Park.
He was forced to watch from the sidelines in 2019 after suffering an injury just before that series.
Judge hit two home runs and four RBIs on Friday night.
And he followed up with another HR on Saturday, making it three in two nights.
Before the series, he admitted, “Getting a chance to step on the field that I went to so many games in the stands.
“And now getting a chance to be on that field, it’s going to be a whirlwind.
“I have a lot of family in town, a lot of friends in town,” Judge added.
Home runs and boomsticks
MLB is back in London for a third time this summer when the Philadelphia Phillies take on the New York Mets.
The London Stadium will transform from a football pitch to a baseball field for the June 8 and 9 spectacle.
Fans attending the games can feast on some extravagant ballpark menu items such as boomstick nachos (pictured) and a two-foot boomstick hotdog.
The New York Yankees won both games in 2019 against their rivals the Boston Red Sox.
And the Chicago Cubs split their series with the St Louis Cardinals when the teams faced off in 2023.
“I have to do something special for them.
“Just trying to stay locked in and put on a show.”
The Yankees are off to a hot start and sit top of the American League East conference.
They have won 41 and lost 19 of their opening 60 games – the leading mark in their conference.
Only the Philadelphia Phillies have a better record so far this season.
The National League East leaders are 41-18 and have a trip to London coming up to take on the New York Mets.
