“Don’t leave New York,” is what ex-Yankee pitcher David Cone wants to suggest to power hitter Aaron Judge, who has turned a free agent after the 2022 regular season. As the San Francisco Giants are trying to sign the slugger, the delay over any tangible decision by Judge about his next move is drawing anxious reactions from fans, analysts, and former players.
David Cone played for the Yankees between 1995 and 2000. The five-time All-Star pitcher was part of the Yankees dynasty that won the World Series multiple times in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. He was the MLB wins leader in 1998 and threw the first interleague perfect game in 1999.
He told this on the Toeing The Slab show on Jomboy Media. According to David Cone, “If you’re in the spotlight, you’re going to miss it. When you leave, you miss it.”
The Yankees great who now works for YES Network shared his experience to drive home that Aaron Judge might miss a significant thing that accompanied his days in New York. After spending six seasons with the Mets, he left New York for Toronto in 1992. However, he always missed New York and was finally back in the city with the Yankees in 1995 and scripted one of the best days of his career there.
David Cone said it was great to go back to New York, where he would play for the Yankees for the next six years. He told:
“After I left New York, I couldn’t wait to get back there. I would warn you about that. I know Aaron Judge had a great time playing for the Yankees, and he’s going to miss it when it’s over. You’ll miss being in the spotlight. You’ll miss all the attention and passion, and it’s hard.”
David Cone expected that Judge’s “first choice” would be to re-sign with the Yankees and that he has “no doubt” that he likes playing for them. He dismissed the booing of Aaron Judge at Yankee Stadium and refused to consider it as a factor in his decision. There were also rumors that the Yankees players have talked to their agents about their brutal, toxic experience during the playoffs. But for Cone, it is a part of the passion that the Yankees fanbase exudes.
In the words of David Cone:
“Yeah, he got booed. Whether it was fair or not or right or wrong, yeah, we know, his teammates have gotten booed. We know the Yankee fanbase can be tough. But they are so passionate. You are an absolute hero when you come through for that fan base. That’s something that gets in your blood, something you’re definitely going to miss and he understands that as well. That’s why we saw him in the postseason — hit a big home run in the postseason — kind of soccer-style grab the jersey and kiss the logo.”
Hal Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, said on Tuesday that he had enough money to re-sign Judge and add more good players to the team. Later that same day, he brought back Judge’s close friend Anthony Rizzo with a $40 million, two-year contract.
David Cone also supported Aaron Judge’s demand for a bigger contract. According to the pitcher,
“Back in spring training, he wanted Mike Trout money. He wanted top of the scale. He’s right. He deserves to be at the top of the pay scale. Mike Trout, I think, on an average annual basis, is around $36 million a year. We know Max Scherzer, for a pitcher, certainly broke the scale and went up to over $40 million — I think $43 million-ish. Don’t quote me. Somewhere in that range. We know the top of the pay scale for a position player is in the mid-to-upper 30s, and that Aaron Judge absolutely deserves to be there. Who other than Aaron Judge deserves to be at the top of the pay scale right now? He’s earned it. That’s what he asked for in spring training. The Yankees were around $30 million or so give or take with their final offer, which he thought was short, and he was right. He went out and proved it.”
What do you think? Is David Cone right to say that players significantly lose when they leave New York? Will leaving the Yankees put Aaron Judge at a disadvantage?
