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<p>CINCINNATI &#8212; He hadn&#8217;t been in town very long, but Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders outfielder Aaron Judge had a good time at Great American Ball Park for Sunday&#8217;s All-Star Futures Game.</p><p>&#8220;Man, it&#8217;s been awesome. I got in Saturday, and had a chance to walk around and check stuff out. Today&#8217;s been the cool part, because I&#8217;ve gotten to meet a lot of players that I&#8217;ve always played against. It&#8217;s been fun just to sit down and talk with them, and just get out there and play baseball. We&#8217;re just having some fun. Everyone&#8217;s really humble and easy to get along with. It&#8217;s been pretty cool.&#8221;</p><p>Judge, who was third on the U.S. Team in home runs with 12, and second on the U.S. roster with 44 runs batted in thus far this season, started as the team&#8217;s designated hitter and batted sixth in the lineup.</p><p>He was one of three U.S Team players to play the entire game in a convincing 10-1 win, going 1 for 4 at the plate. He had an infield hit to third and scored in the fourth inning on Josh Bell&#8217;s home run. He also had a deep flyout to right field and two strikeouts.</p><p>&#8220;Just getting to meet these guys, play with them, pick their minds and have some fun, that was the biggest thing for me,&#8221; Judge said. &#8220;We won the game, which is great. But just getting this experience is probably the biggest thing.&#8221;</p><p>He laughed about nearly getting picked off second on his fourth-inning hit. Judge made a big turn around first, and his former teammate at Double-A Trenton &#8212; catcher Gary Sanchez &#8212; backed up the play and nearly tagged him out on his way back.</p><p>&#8220;Gary tried sneakin&#8217; up on me, man. I thought he was my teammate and he kinda snuck up on me. That was a good play by him, a good try,&#8221; Judge said. &#8220;I would&#8217;ve been worn out (from hearing about it) for years, if he would&#8217;ve got me there.&#8221;</p><p>Prior to Sunday&#8217;s game, Judge had time to reflect on his past and how he got to the Futures game.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an honor and a blessing first off, to be selected to represent the New York Yankees here. It kinda goes back to all the great coaches and teammates that I&#8217;ve had in the past, all the way back to college, from high school to even Little League, you know?&#8221; Judge said. &#8220;Just having a great support system from my family and friends, I just can&#8217;t thank them enough for the opportunities they&#8217;ve given me. I just know that I wouldn&#8217;t be here without them.&#8221;</p><p>At 6-foot-7, Judge was the tallest player in the Futures game. He said he hasn&#8217;t had time to use that height to check out the Fan Zone or any of the Major League Baseball exhibits around town, but he hopes to after the game.</p><p>&#8220;I walked around the streets a little bit. I&#8217;m just hoping the weather holds off. It&#8217;s pretty humid out there. But I&#8217;m hoping that maybe tonight after the game I&#8217;ll be able to check the city out,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The RailRiders begin the second half of the International League season just down Interstate 71 in Louisville, so Judge won&#8217;t have too far to go. Louisville is roughly a two-hour drive southwest of Cincinnati.</p><p>&#8220;The funny thing is, that the timing with the Triple-A all-star break and the Futures Game is kind of the same time. So we head to Louisville after the All-Star Game. I&#8217;ll just get together with my family and make the couple-hour drive down the freeway to Louisville and start up the second half.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking forward to it.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Aaron Judge&#8217;s photo appears on the scoreboard at Cincinnati&#8217;s Great American Ball Park over the weekend. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Judgesign.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Aaron Judge&#8217;s photo appears on the scoreboard at Cincinnati&#8217;s Great American Ball Park over the weekend. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JudgeCage.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s Aaron Judge follows one of his hits during Sunday&#8217;s U.S. team batting practice, just prior to the All-Star Futures Game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JudgeCage.jpg</photo1><caption1>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s Aaron Judge follows one of his hits during Sunday&#8217;s U.S. team batting practice, just prior to the All-Star Futures Game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JudgeChat.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Aaron Judge shares a laugh with an athletic trainer prior to batting practice for Sunday&#8217;s All-Star Futures Game at Cincinnati&#8217;s Great American Ball Park. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JudgeChat.jpg</photo2><caption2>Aaron Judge shares a laugh with an athletic trainer prior to batting practice for Sunday&#8217;s All-Star Futures Game at Cincinnati&#8217;s Great American Ball Park. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JudgeField.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">While he&#8217;s usually an outfielder for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Aaron Judge played Sundays All-Star Futures Game as the designated hitter. He went 1 for 4 with a single and a run scored and the U.S. Team claimed a 10-1 win at Cincinnati&#8217;s Great American Ball Park. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JudgeField.jpg</photo3><caption3>While he&#8217;s usually an outfielder for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Aaron Judge played Sundays All-Star Futures Game as the designated hitter. He went 1 for 4 with a single and a run scored and the U.S. Team claimed a 10-1 win at Cincinnati&#8217;s Great American Ball Park. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Bombatch</p><p>jbombatch@civitasmedia.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>John Bombatch is sports editor for the Xenia Gazette, and the Fairborn Daily Herald, in SW Ohio. He can be reached at 937-372-4444, Ext. 2123.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders AAron Judge enjoys All-Star Futures Game