Officially the largest position player to every put on a uniform at 6’7” and 282 pounds, Aaron Judge did not take long to endear himself to the New York Yankees faithful. With tremendous expectations placed on the young outfielder, Judge has proven that the old Teddy Roosevelt adage “speak softly and carry a big stick” will serve him well. The 2017 unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year finished second in the AL MVP vote as well and the soft-spoken Judge’s popularity in a short time includes a section in right field at Yankees Stadium called the “Judges’ Chambers”.     

Judge began the 2017 on a torrid home run pace, so much so that the big right fielder broke the Yankees single season rookie home run record, previously held by Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, by the All-Star break. Judge also put on a show at the Mid-Summer Classic in Miami by besting fellow sluggers Justin Bour, Cody Bellinger and Miguel Sano to win the Home Run Derby with a ridiculous 47 home runs – two of which were estimated over 500 feet. Ultimately, Judge would break the all-time rookie home run record, established by the 49 home runs Mark McGwire hit in 1987, with 52 – a number that will most likely not be challenged for a long time!

Offered here is one of the bats Judge used to embark on his record-setting rookie home run crusade, direct from the player and the very 1^st Home Run bat of his to come to market. Judge used this offered Chandler AJ99.2 model bat to hit his 17^th home run of his historic rookie season during the May 29^th game in Baltimore off pitcher Dylan Bundy to deep center field, traveling an estimated 430 feet. The bat was used for the last time on June 1^st during the first inning at Toronto when it was broken during the at-bat off Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada, an RBI single. According to the experts at PSA/DNA, Judge also used this bat during the May 27^th, May 29^th, May 30^th and May 31^st games before cracking it during the aforementioned June 1^st game.

                This Chandler AJ99.2 model bat displays outstanding game use and has a large crack on the handle. This all-black bat has numerous ball marks, stitch impressions, blue ink transfers, white leather scuffs and cleat imprints that are present on the barrel. Also present on the barrel is an impression from a weighted batting sleeve. The gold Chandler logo is affixed to the lower barrel and there is a mark on the handle that identifies the grain, which has been mandatory per Major League Baseball for all maple bats since 2009. The handle has a thick coating of Mota Stick. Judge has signed this bat in silver marker and inscribed “ROY”, “2017 Game Used” and “Rookie HR Record”. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B15277) for the game use, along with photo matches to two specific plate appearances and a LOA from Anderson Authentics (2774) which authenticates both the signature and game use. There is also a MLB Authenticated hologram (JB986130) which dates this bat to the June 1^st game and that it was cracked during the first inning at-bat. While we have seen a fair number of Judge jerseys at auction over the last year or so, MLB used bats of his are exceedingly scarce and this is the first Rookie of the Year Season home run bat to come to market, providing a terrific opportunity for the advanced bat collector to add a rare modern and historical item.

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