TORONTO — Aaron Judge got to meet his biggest fan Wednesday at the Rogers Center.
One day after the heartwarming scene of 9-year-old Yankees fan Derek Rodriguez hugging Mike Lanzillotta, the Blue Jays fan who walked away with Judge’s home run in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game before giving it to Rodriguez, the two returned to the Rogers Center, where they were both introduced to Judge.
“It was a special moment,” Judge said of their meeting before Wednesday night’s game.
It happened Tuesday when Judge hit a fastball off Alek Manoah on a 3-2 count with the Yankees trailing 1-0. The 427-foot shot landed on the second deck in left field, causing a bit of a stir, with Lanzillotta grabbing it off the ground.
Lanzillotta, who had spoken with Derek and his father, Cesar, earlier in the game and knew he was a huge fan of Judge, turned around and handed him the ball, which was shown on the broadcast, right after the ball was hit. .
The now-viral video of Lanzillota picking up the ball and immediately handing it to the 9-year-old Rodriguez, who then hugged Lanzillotta and began to cry, prompted the Yankees to bring them together again before Wednesday’s series finale.
“For a Blue Jays fan to have that moment with a young Yankees fan, it’s a moment seen around the world,” Judge said. “It speaks volumes about the Blue Jays fans that they have here. … It was great.”
Judge spoke with Rodriguez on the visitors’ bench for several moments, where Rodriguez was overcome with emotion again.
“I asked him who his favorite player was and he turned around with his little shirt on,” Judge said of Rodriguez’s No. 99 jersey. “It still gives me the creeps to see little kids wearing my number, my jersey. That was something he dreamed of. I used to be in his position, with my favorite players and teams. It was a pretty cool moment.”
Rodriguez, accompanied by his family, said he brought the “famous ball” to school and brought a marker to Wednesday’s game for the judge to sign.
“I’m excited that this happened,” said Rodriguez, who goes by the name Derek Jeter.
And, he said of Lanzillotta, “I’ll call him my best friend for life.”
“That’s hard to beat,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the Rodriguez-Lanzillotta moment. “That’s one of the moments that warms your heart.”
Rodriguez and his family are expected to join Lanzillotta later this year, perhaps in June, when the Blue Jays visit the Bronx, and all have been invited to sit in the Judge’s Room in right field.
It will be difficult for Judge to provide a more dramatic moment.
Right now, he’s still on a torrid streak during which he has homered five in his previous five games, six in his last seven and eight in his last 10.
Judge entered Wednesday with nine home runs on the season, tied with teammate Anthony Rizzo and Colorado’s CJ Cron for the most in the majors.
The superb first month comes after Judge rejected the Yankees’ seven-year, $230 million extension offer before spring training.
Days like Wednesday are a reminder of why Judge might think he’s worth more than that.
Reference-nypost.com