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Aaron Judge Asked Yankees Fans About Aaron Judge and They Didn't Recognize Him
In their defense, the Yankees outfielder was a rookie at the time and he wasn't in his pinstripes.
With the exception of household-name athletes like Travis Kelce and Steph Curry, a professional athlete's fame is not unlike that of a successful soap opera star's: They can grocery shop without being recognized every five minutes, but their true fans really know who they are. Baseball player Aaron Judge learned this less than a year into playing for the New York Yankees, when The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon sent the outfielder to talk with fans of the Bronx Bombers in May 2017.
And many of those Yankees fans had no idea they were talking to Aaron Judge.
In their defense, Judge had only joined the team on August 13, 2016 — so he was still a rookie, if a much-anticipated addition to the Yankees roster following Alex Rodriguez's final game. Plus, Jimmy Fallon sent Judge to Manhattan's Bryant Park "in disguise": He was wearing a suit and thick-rimmed glasses, which was enough to prevent the citizens of Metropolis from realizing Clark Kent was Superman.
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Aaron Judge asked Yankees fans what they think about Aaron Judge
Seated at an NBC Sports desk, Judge posed as a correspondent.
"Favorite player so far this year -- who do you got?" Judge asked a self-professed lifelong Yankees fan named Mike.
"Probably Brett Gardner," Mike replied. Strike one.
"Aaron Judge is tremendous to watch," another fan told Aaron Judge.
"Yeah, so far he's — I think he has about 13 home runs," Judge said. "What do you think he'll finish with?"
"40? He can't keep up this pace, I don't think," the man shared.
"I mean, I think he can, though," Judge countered.
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When another fan said Judge is "gonna be a star," the outfielder asked him to hazard a guess about how much he bench presses.
"Maybe 350, 400," the man speculated.
"You're right," Judge confirmed, as the man seemed to not get it.
While the comments from oblivious interviewees were great — shout-out to the guy who praised "Adam Judge" to the player's face — even better were their reactions when he told them they were talking to Aaron Judge.
"Oh my god!" one woman squealed, standing up to hug the player, while another simply said, "that's crazy," as he proved it by donning a Yankees cap.
Watch Aaron Judge's 2017 prank above.
