At about 2 a.m on Dec. 7, a weary Aaron Judge completed his second flight in a 24-hour span, with a third coming up just a few hours later. He had traveled from Tampa to San Diego to Stockton, Calif., 20 minutes from his home in Linden. And upon landing in Stockton, a career-altering text message appeared on his phone.
While on vacation in Italy, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner had composed a long message to the American League MVP, asking if they could talk. Steinbrenner, knowing Judge was closing in on his free-agent decision, wanted to make his intentions absolutely clear.
Judge was with his wife, Samantha, and miniature dachshund, Penny. He and Samantha were dropping the dog off at Judge’s parents at Linden, then leaving on a 7 a.m. flight from Sacramento to Maui. So much was happening, both with his travels and at the winter meetings in San Diego. Before calling Steinbrenner, Judge wanted to formulate a game plan. He phoned his agents, Page Odle and Dave Matranga of PSI Sports Management. The moment of truth in Judge’s suspenseful, month-long spin through free agency had arrived.
A dozen people close to the negotiations, some of whom were granted anonymity to speak candidly, detailed the final, frantic hours leading to Judge’s nine-year, $360 million…
