Rizzo on What Makes Aaron Judge Different

Anthony Rizzo spent years across the clubhouse from Aaron Judge, and the story he tells Rich is less about a moment and more about a routine that never broke.

Rich asks for a favorite Judge story. Rizzo can't land on one. Not because he doesn't have them, but because the answer is every single day. Judge treats everyone with the same level of class and respect. For a player at that level of stardom, Rizzo calls it a superpower.

The slump math is what separates Judge from mortals. Rizzo says when he went through a slump, it took him three weeks to climb out. Judge takes three at-bats.

The 2022 chase is the part Rizzo remembers most clearly. Judge got off to what people called a slow start that year, then hit a home run every other day through the summer. By August, the Yankees clubhouse was on the top step. Nobody wanted to miss it.

Rizzo describes the end of that season as a front row seat to history. Sixty-two deep, catching Maris, family in the stands, the whole team celebrating in Texas with Judge and his family.

Rich asks the question every teammate gets asked about a chase like that. Did Judge show any pressure on the inside? Rizzo's answer is the tell. The teammates felt it more than Judge did. It was on them to keep their routines normal. It was on them to make sure the clubhouse didn't turn into a pressure cooker that it probably was for Judge anyway.

There were quiet moments. Conversations with their wives in the background about the big thing that hadn't happened yet. The presents were bought. The watch was ready. The champagne was on ice. But the day to day had to stay business as usual.

The night before the record fell, Rizzo and Judge were hanging out in Texas. Their wives were hanging out. The dogs were hanging out. That was the tone of the whole chase.

Rizzo's answer to what sets Judge apart is not a swing mechanic or a home run number. It is the consistency of who he is in the building. The same guy through a slow start. The same guy through a record chase. The same guy in the dugout, the parking lot, and the hotel.

That is the thing Rizzo says a teammate notices. The rest of the country sees the numbers. The clubhouse sees the routine that produces the numbers.

For Yankees fans watching Judge start another season, Rizzo's answer is the one worth keeping. The slumps are shorter because the work never stops. The pressure doesn't show because the person underneath doesn't change.