Getty Aaron Judge ran into Tommy DeVito while out on the town recently. He made sure the quarterback felt the love.
Quarterback Tommy DeVito has caught the attention of many during his rookie season with the New York Giants. One person in particular who is among this group is New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
In advance of DeVito and the Giants facing the Philadelphia Eagles on December 25, the signal-caller sat down for an interview with NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. A three-minute segment was shared by Fox Sports on X, formerly Twitter right before New York and Philadelphia took the field.
In response to Schrager asking, “What’s been the coolest interaction? Or, maybe just the experience. What’s it been for you?” DeVito talked about his encounter with Judge while being out to eat at the same New York City restaurant earlier in December.
“Two nights ago, I went out to dinner in the City, and the table next to me was Aaron Judge. I saw him out of the corner of my eye before, but I didn’t want to go say ‘Hello’ yet so I waited until the end of dinner,” said DeVito. “I went to go pay, and the waiter had come over and said, ‘Aaron tried to pay for your tab. I turned around and I was like, ‘This guy knows who I am?’ I turned around and introduced myself and that was an awesome experience because I am a Yankees fan.”
Schrager’s question and DeVito’s answer can be seen below at the one-minute mark:
Aaron Judge Likes Helping out Younger Players
Judge trying to pick up DeVito’s dinner tab is a classy move. However, this kind of behavior isn’t necessarily new from the outfielder.
Shortstop Anthony Volpe cracked the Yankees’ 2023 Opening Day roster out of spring training despite only having played 22 games above Double-A. Judge was one of several Yankee veterans who went out of their way to make sure the 22-year-old’s transition to the big leagues was as smooth and welcoming as possible.
The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty shared a report on April 24 about how Volpe was preparing for his first MLB road trips by going suit shopping in Manhattan. When the shortstop tried to pay his bill, he was told to put his wallet away because Judge had secretly arranged to pay for it.
Kuty also reported in this story that Judge bought Volpe a PlayStation 5 during spring training after overhearing they both loved the same soccer game.
The Yankees’ Lineup Is Getting a Big Boost for 2024
While the outfielder is clearly paying attention to New York’s pro football scene during the winter, he’s preparing for another important year in the Bronx in 2024.
The Yankees finished 2023 with an 82-80 record. The last time New York finished with fewer wins during a non-shortened year was 1992 when they finished 76-86.
Despite dealing with multiple trips to the injured list, Judge had another big campaign individually. He slashed .267/.406/.613 with 37 home runs, 75 RBI and 79 runs scored in 458 plate appearances. To get Judge some help on offense, general manager Brian Cashman has already swung two trades this winter.
New York first acquired Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox on December 5, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Then, they completed a seven-player deal with the San Diego Padres to acquire Juan Soto and Trent Grisham on December 6, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.
Each of these players has racked up several years in the big leagues. But as the Yankees’ captain, we’ll have to wait and see what Judge has up his sleeve to help them get comfortable in the pinstripes as quickly as possible.
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Yankees’ Aaron Judge Gave Tommy DeVito a Proper New York Welcome