New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Aaron Judge is doing Aaron Judge things — again.
As the calendar turns to May, the New York Yankees captain is off to strong campaign to win another American League Most Valuable Player award. Judge currently leads all of Major League Baseball in an eye-popping list of offensive categories: batting average (.427), on-base percentage (.521), slugging percentage (.761), OPS (1.282), hits (50), total bases (89), and WAR (2.7). He’s also tied for the MLB lead in home runs (10) and RBIs (32) after hitting a home run and driving in three runs on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
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This is the version of Judge that took home the AL MVP award in 2022, when he broke the American League home run record with 62. He claimed MVP honors again last season, when he clubbed a league-leading 58 home runs and 144 RBIs (also a career high).
But even amid another potentially historic run, Judge remains grounded in his faith in God as he hopes to lead the Yankees to a second straight AL championship. New York (18-13) is off to another strong start, sitting atop the AL East by 1.5 games.
“That’s where it starts for me — the foundation, where I get a lot of my strength, and being able to do what I do on a daily basis, it all comes from that,” Judge told CBN Sports during the 2024 All-Star Game, his sixth overall and fourth consecutive appearance at the mid-summer classic. “I never would’ve imagined I’d be in this position — getting drafted, working my way up to the major leagues, then getting the chance to be in an All-Star Game is surreal. It all starts with faith.”
Judge’s talent and larger-than-life presence on the field at 6-foot-7 has made him a unique figure in professional sports: an elite athlete who leads with both excellence and faith. And as he leads baseball in virtually every offensive category, his witness is as loud as his bat.
He often cites 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) — “For we walk by faith, not by sight” — as his one of his favorite Bible verses, and he has it displayed at the top of his X page as his banner photo. He also proudly proclaims himself as a Christian in both his X and Instagram bios.
In a 2019 visit to Fresno, California, where he attended Fresno State University and near where he grew up in Linden, Judge dropped by the announcer’s booth during a Fresno State football game to discuss his career and his formative years. He also discussed his work with the All Rise Foundation, a nonprofit he launched with a goal to inspire youth to become responsible citizens in their communities. Earlier that week at an event in Fresno, he unveiled a personal painting he created, showing key moments from his life and baseball journey. The artwork featured logos from the Yankees, Fresno State Bulldogs, and his high school team, the Linden Lions.
The piece also mentioned 2 Corinthians 5:7.
“I try to live my life by it, and always trust the Man Above and what He’s got in store for us,” Judge said on the radio broadcast. “We never know what’s around the corner, but if we have faith in Him, He will lead us in the right direction.”
His formative years were also largely shaped by the nurturing of his adoptive parents, Patty and Wayne Judge, who adopted him on the second day of his life, along with his older brother, John. During a 2024 World Series media session, CBN Sports asked him about his adoption and how adoption imagery in the Bible has helped him better understand God’s love.
Scripture speaks often of God adopting His people as His own children — choosing and loving them and giving them a new identity through Christ (Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:15).
“His love is incredible. It has no ends,” he told CBN Sports. “The position I was in, being adopted by my parents, for them to pick me, choose me, put me in their lives, it’s incredible. If you would’ve told me back then when I was 5 years old that I’d be in the World Series with the Yankees, that I’d be the captain of the Yankees, I probably never would’ve believed you. But just having His blessings, keeping the faith through good times and bad times knowing He’s always with me, that’s definitely helped me get to this position.”
After dropping two of three games in Baltimore this week, the Yankees return home for a three-game series with Tampa Bay starting Friday.
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