Aaron Judge "Judge's Chambers"

Rookie outfielder Aaron Judge is doing some unreal things for the Yankees this season. Through 39 games, the 25-year-old behemoth is hitting .321/.421/.707 with an MLB-best 15 home runs and 30 RBI. (And that’s despite hitting just one home run in the last week.)

Even though Judge’s power has tapered off a bit recently, the Yankees found a way to honor him by installing “The Judge’s Chambers,” a new seating section in right field, Judge’s position, sectioned off by some fancy-looking faux wood paneling to look like a jury box.

The Yankees hope to invite charity groups and non-profit organizations to fill the seats, according to the Associated Press. Fans wearing Judge apparel will also be more likely to get invited into the special section.

And they’re going all in on the name pun. Attendees will receive styrofoam gavels and robes with the Yankees logo on the front and Judge’s No. 99 on the back for the night.

Judge responded to Yankee Stadium’s newest addition with modesty, from the AP:

“I was shocked, you know. I was surprised,” Judge said. ”I think it’s going to be a pretty cool idea that the fans will like. It will be something the fans I really think will enjoy.”

[…]

“It’s exciting, that’s all I can really say,” Judge said. “All the off-the-field stuff, the promotions, they’re great. But I’ve still got a job to do on the field. If I’m not doing my job on the field, all this other stuff wouldn’t be happening.”

While fans and analysts have known of Judge’s potential for a while, he didn’t break out until the start of this season. Still, the Yankees had reportedly been considering given him a special section ever since spring training.

If they were considering something like this that early in the year, it must have been a no-brainer once Judge started doing things like destroying TVs in the outfield with batting practice dingers and blasting the hardest-hit home run of the Statcast era. Not only is Judge a frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but he’s also in the MVP conversation.

We’ll see if the Yankees have any plans for honoring Brett Gardner, who has hit nine homers in his last 80 at-bats. That’s more than he hit all of last season. There’s plenty of puns available with his last name, too.

Ironically, Gardner’s solo shot Monday night against the Royals landed just one section over from The Judge’s Chambers.

[Associated Press]

About Jesse Kramer

Jesse is a writer and editor for The Comeback. He has also worked for SI.com and runs The Catch and Shoot, a college basketball website based in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow Jesse on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer.