Home run romance! Aaron Judge and Samantha Bracksieck try to keep their marriage out of the spotlight, but their chemistry can’t be hidden.
The New York Yankees outfielder and Bracksieck began their romance as high school sweethearts, dating on and off as teenagers before drifting apart. They reportedly rekindled their flame in 2019 and have been going strong ever since.
Toward the end of his high school career, Judge was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round of the 2010 MLB draft. However, he opted instead to play college ball at California State University, Fresno, before joining the professional league. He was later drafted by the Yankees in 2013 before an injury kept him on the bench during the season.
Three years later, the California native made his official Yankees debut against the Tampa Bay Rays and scored a home run off his first career at-bat. During his rookie season in 2017, he broke icon Joe DiMaggio’s record for most home runs hit by a Yankees rookie. He later won the Home Run Derby, becoming the first rookie to do so.
The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner has more than 200 home runs under his belt since his first game in the Bronx. In September 2022, Bracksieck watched from the crowd as her husband vied for his 60th homer of the season — which he nabbed in the ninth inning to help the Yankees defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-8. Judge became only the third MLB player in the American League to achieve the impressive feat more than 90 years after legendary Yankee Babe Ruth reached the same number.
“I don’t think about numbers,” the slugger said as he inched closer to the all-time American League record set by Roger Maris in 1961, per the New York Post. “You talk about Ruth, Maris, [Mickey] Mantle, the Yankee greats, you never imagine as a kid getting mentioned with them. It’s an incredible honor.”
Through all the highs and lows of his career, Bracksieck has remained Judge’s No. 1 fan. The couple have been spotted together at several sporting events over the years, including the U.S. Open and Brooklyn Nets games.
While Judge is active on social media, he hardly gives glimpses of his life at home with Bracksieck. The pair exchanged vows in December 2021 at the Montage Kapalua Bay hotel in Lahaina, Hawaii, but the MLB All-Star has never shared any photos from the big day with his fans. Bracksieck, for her part, doesn’t appear to have any public-facing social media accounts.
Scroll down for a look inside the pair’s low-key romance:
