Yankees' minor league team honors Aaron Judge with majestic bobblehead

At this time last year, Aaron Judge was simply hoping to win a job with the New York Yankees. The rookie slugger had struggled in a short audition with the team at the end of the 2016 season, and was not guaranteed a spot in the team’s opening day lineup.

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Fifty-two home runs and several records later, Judge is now a superstar. His No. 99 jersey is flying off store shelves and his surname has even inspired the “Judge’s Chambers,” a section in the right field bleachers at Yankee Stadium that serves as his personal fan club.

Judge is definitely a big deal now. If his records and the fan response don’t prove that, then his latest honor surely will. Judge will now be immortalized in bobblehead form by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Yankees Triple A affiliate and the team where Judge’s final MLB preparations were made. And this bobblehead will also be a perfect play on his well-earned nickname: “The Judge.”

It’s one thing to be honored by the major league team. Honestly, just about every player who puts on a major league uniform gets that honor these days. But it’s always special when a player’s former minor league team feels he’s reached the point where they can base a promotion around him.

Judge put up solid numbers with the RailRiders, launching 27 homers in 154 games over two seasons. He also struck out 172 times, which highlighted the concerns that many felt would derail his MLB career. We doubt many who saw him there would have predicted what happened in 2017, or valued owning a Judge bobblehead all that highly after his first callup in 2016. They will now though, and we’re guessing that bobblehead will end up having some immense value.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Yahoo Sports Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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