Yankees' Aaron Judge gets start in centerfield for first time since 2018

Aaron Judge started in centerfield Wednesday night for only the second time in his major-league career.

Aaron Boone indicated before the game against the Rays this occasion might not be just a one-time deal.

"We'll see," Boone said. "I'm not necessarily committing to anything, but I could definitely see it in play moving forward from time to time."

The circumstances contributing to Judge patrolling center at the Stadium were not dissimilar to those that led to him to starting his only other big-league game there: March 31, 2018 against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

In that case, Aaron Hicks had just been put on the injured list (then called the disabled list) and Jacoby Ellsbury already was on it. Not wanting to burn out Brett Gardner (sound familiar?), Judge got the nod.

In this case, the Yankees are again short outfielders with Hicks (again) on the IL and a desire to not run Gardner, now 37, into the ground.

The 6-7, 282-pound Judge, whom the Yankees drafted as a centerfielder out of Fresno State in the first round in 2013, is enthused to take up the position again.

"He and I have had some conversations about it," Boone said, noting those talks started within the last week. "He very much wants to do it. It’s in his game to do it. And then [Tuesday] night, before he left late last night, I had him pop his head in my office and I just kind of said, ‘Hey, you ready for this?’ And he's like, ‘Let's do it.’ Obviously understanding we're in some unique circumstances right now [with the roster] where it's needed, and Aaron's excited to step up to the challenge."

Judge spoke of his excitement to again play center before that late-March game in Toronto in 2018.

"You get a better read on the ball in centerfield than in the corners," said Judge, who put away the one chance he had in that game. "It’s the best view in the house."

According to an mlb.com story from that day, Judge tied Walt Bond as the tallest player to ever appear in a major-league game in center (Bond saw time there with Cleveland in 1960-61 and with the Houston Colt .45s in 1964). Judge’s 282 pounds made him the heaviest player to ever play center.

"He’s a great outfielder, he’s a good athlete, he’s fundamentally incredibly sound as a defender," Boone said Wednesday of what made him comfortable with Judge in center. "Look, obviously to be an everyday centerfielder in the major leagues takes a more unique skill set, but I think any outfielder would probably tell you going from a corner to go to play center is probably a little easier than the opposite. To be a regular centerfielder, obviously, there's more to it. [But] I think he'll handle it fine, and it'll be seamless. And I just think he's equipped athletically and fundamentally to go over there and handle it."

His teammates, starting with ace Gerrit Cole, were eagerly anticipating watching it unfold. Cole, while at UCLA, recalled playing against Judge and seeing him in center.

"I'm probably just as excited as you to see how it transpires," Cole said. "He's obviously about as talented as it comes on the baseball field, so there's no job or no task that's too big for Aaron. I probably assume he'll come through this with the Superman cape that he tends to wear every time he plays."