Aaron Judge Named Yankees Captain After $360M Contract; 1st Since Derek Jeter

The Yankees have been without a captain in eight years.

Yankees chairman Hal Steinbrenner said at Wednesday's press conference that the reigning American League Most Valuable Player will be the team's first official captain in three years.

"To get a chance to continue my legacy here in pinstripes, in the best city in the world, the best baseball city, in front of the best fans, this is an incredible honor," Judge said.

The Yankees seemed to give away the surprise when reporters in attendance noted that the captain was present.

Jack Curry @JackCurryYES

Derek Jeter is at the Aaron Judge press conference. We can all guess what's next.

It had been speculated that Judge would become the Yankees' captain after they agreed to a deal, but the formal announcement didn't come until Wednesday.

Brian Cashman said in 2015 that he would not give out the title of captain again.

Cashman told Wallace Matthews that he thought he did it as well as anyone could. I don't think it's a good idea to give the captaincy to someone else. I don't think anyone should be named captain of the New York Yankees immediately.

After Don Mattingly's retirement, the Yankees went without a captain for eight years.

The captain was not named until midway through the 2003 campaign.

Judge was the best choice to be the Yankees' captain. He's spent his entire career with the organization, will likely finish his career in the Bronx with a deal that runs through his age 39 season, and has been one of the best players in Major League Baseball since the beginning of the year.

Judge became the first Yankees player to be named Most Valuable Player since Alex Rodriguez in 2007, after setting an American League record with 62 homers.

The Yankees have a list of captains that include Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph and others.