NEW YORK — August 13, 2016. That sweltering Saturday afternoon changed everything. The game-time temperature hit 95 degrees. The Yankees were playing their first game after Alex Rodriguez’s final appearance with the team. A 20th anniversary celebration of the 1996 championship team added to the atmosphere.
Two young Yankees prospects stepped to the plate against Tampa Bay. What followed became baseball legend.
Both faced Matt Andriese of Tampa Bay in the second inning.
One batting seventh drilled a home run in his first major league at-bat. The other, Aaron Judge, followed at eighth with a 446-foot blast to Monument Park. Back-to-back home runs. First career at-bats. Same inning. Same game.
Judge joined Russell Branyan and Carlos Correa as the only players to send a ball over the glass panels above Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees won 8-4. Both rookies went 2-for-4.
No two teammates had ever done that in baseball history. One became the face of the Yankees. The other disappeared from the American baseball landscape for six years.
Until now.
Ex-Yankees star returns after Japan dominance
The Chicago Cubs agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million deal with Aaron Judge’s debut history mate Tyler Austin on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported. The 34-year-old first baseman returns to MLB after reinventing himself as a star in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
The deal brings back a player once labeled a “mega prospect” by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. That description came in August 2012 when Austin was tearing through the minor leagues.
“These are exciting young guys who have to now prove themselves here,” Cashman said when Austin and Judge debuted together. “Some will do a better job of that than others. Some will struggle.”
Austin struggled. Judge became arguably the best hitter in baseball.
Yankees tenure ended with infamous Red Sox brawl
Austin’s time with the Yankees produced one lasting memory beyond that debut. On April 11, 2018, he sparked one of the wildest brawls in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.
It started with a hard slide into shortstop Brock Holt at second base in the third inning. Four innings later, Boston reliever Joe Kelly drilled Austin with a 97 mph fastball after missing him on the first pitch.
Austin slammed his bat and charged the mound. Kelly yelled “Let’s go!” and the two started throwing punches. Benches cleared. The scuffle spilled across the field. Kelly received a six-game suspension. Austin got five games.
The Yankees traded Austin to Minnesota later that season for veteran pitcher Lance Lynn. He bounced through the Twins, Giants, and Brewers without finding steady footing. His MLB career appeared finished after 2019.
Japan revived what MLB couldn’t develop
Austin signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in late 2019. The move transformed his career. He slashed .293/.377/.568 with 85 home runs across six NPB seasons. He earned two All-Star selections. He won the 2024 Central League batting title with a .316 average.
That same year, Austin helped lead Yokohama to the Japan Series championship. It was something even Aaron Judge hasn’t achieved with the Yankees. The BayStars defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in six games for their first title since 1998.
“Baseball fans all across Japan are incredible!” Austin wrote in a 2023 essay for The Players’ Tribune. “They’re like nothing I’ve ever seen or experienced before in all my years in baseball.”
Former Yankees teammate Masahiro Tanaka convinced Austin to give Japan a chance. The decision paid off beyond anything he experienced in the American minor leagues.
Cubs reunite BayStars teammates
The Cubs deal reunites Austin with left-hander Shota Imanaga. The two were BayStars teammates for four seasons before Imanaga signed with Chicago ahead of the 2024 campaign. Imanaga accepted his $22.025 million qualifying offer to return to the Cubs for 2026.
Chicago needed a right-handed bat off the bench. They paid 40-year-old Justin Turner $6 million last season for that role. Austin provides a younger, cheaper alternative with proven power against lefties.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell saw Austin briefly during his 2019 stint with Milwaukee. The Brewers passed him through waivers that November. Now Counsell gets another look at what six years in Japan produced.
From Yankees mega prospect to trivia answer
Austin’s MLB numbers tell one story. His .219 career batting average across 209 games doesn’t scream success. His 33 home runs and 91 RBIs came with a 36.9% strikeout rate that kept him bouncing between the Yankees and other organizations.
The 13th-round pick from 2010 was the Yankees’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2012. Baseball America ranked him as the 77th best prospect in baseball before the 2013 season. Injuries and struggles derailed what looked like a promising future in the Bronx for the Yankees prospect.
Judge became a three-time MVP. He set the American League single-season home run record. He signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to remain the Yankees captain.
Austin’s name usually surfaces only when someone mentions Judge’s debut. He became a trivia answer rather than a star.
Different paths from the same starting point
The 2016 debut showed two careers launching simultaneously. One went straight to stardom. The other required a detour through Japan to find success.
Austin proved something valuable overseas. His power translated when given consistent at-bats. His strikeout rate dropped. His patience improved. His 10.6% walk rate in 2025 ranked among the best in NPB.
Now the 34-year-old gets another chance to prove the Yankees gave up too soon. The Yankees franchise that once called him a mega prospect moved on years ago. Judge carries the Yankees championship hopes. Austin carries the memory of what might have been in pinstripes.
Some stars shine brightest in the Bronx. Others find their light in Yokohama before returning to try again. Austin’s second act in MLB begins in Chicago, nine years after baseball history started in New York.
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