Ultimately, the decision to match San Francisco’s offer was made by Steinbrenner, who called Judge directly from a vacation in Italy and asked, “Do you want to be a Yankee?” When Judge replied, “Yes,” Steinbrenner offered the ninth year and a deal was struck, sending the Judges off on a happy Hawaiian holiday.
From the first day after the Yankees’ postseason exit, Steinbrenner prioritized retaining Judge, meeting with the slugger face to face on at least one occasion in Tampa, where he told him that he and his family hoped Judge remained “a Yankee for life.” Steinbrenner has also said naming Judge as the Yankees’ first captain since Derek Jeter (2003-14) is on the table.