Someone is hoping Aaron Judge has a very long and successful major league career. The jersey the Yankees’ 25-year-old slugger was wearing May 28 when he belted his first career grand slam sold for $45,578 at auction Sunday.
Steiner Sports, through its partnership with the Yankees, offered the jersey in an auction that closed Sunday night after opening at a $10,000 minimum. It’s the first Judge rookie year jersey to come to auction.
The Memorial Day home pinstripe button-down shirt carried a special military theme with a 5 star patch added to the right sleeve in honor of the five branches of the military. A portion of the proceeds were to benefit the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, so charity may have been one of the winning bidder’s motivating factors in spending big bucks on a jersey worn by a player who has yet to play a full season.
Judge is off to a hot start, with a batting line of .324/.429/.681 with league-leading 18 homers and 41 RBI. His on-base percentage of 1.110 is second only to Mike Trout.
Gary Sanchez’s Memorial Day game jersey sold for $3,000 in the same auction.