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On Tuesday, Kyle Higashioka made his return to Yankee Stadium for the first time since being traded to San Diego in exchange for Juan Soto, who joined The Bronx team.
“In some ways, it seems like I never left,’’ said Higashioka, now with the Rangers, who did not play in the Yankees’ 5-2 series-opening win.
Higashioka, now 35, mentioned reconnecting with familiar faces at the stadium, which likely included his longtime former teammate, Aaron Judge.
The two players shared several experiences, starting from the Yankees’ minor league system and continuing together in the majors from 2017 until Higashioka’s trade to the Padres concluded his 16-year tenure with the Yankees after the 2023 season.
So not many players have seen Judge’s rise through the game from up close more than Higashioka.
“I would say it’s incredible, but from playing with him for so long, you almost assume it’s something that’s possible,’’ Higashioka said of Judge’s start, which saw the right fielder leading the majors in just about every offensive category.
“So it’s not that incredible because it’s him,’’ said Higashioka, now Jonah Heim’s backup in Texas. “It’s cool to see.”
Higashioka was a Yankee during Judge’s 62-homer season in 2022 and then faced him as an opponent last year for the first time, when the Yankees visited San Diego last May.
“For him to continue to get better every single year, especially after you think it can’t get better than 62, he’s one of the greatest ever,” Higashioka said of Judge, who went 2-or-4 with a two-run homer in Tuesday’s win.
Though the catcher wasn’t in the lineup, he was tasked with game-planning against Judge on May 26 last season with the Padres.
Judge singled in his first at-bat of that game against Joe Musgrove, flied to center in the fourth inning and struck out in the sixth before Higashioka was removed for a pinch hitter.
Asked about the challenge of dealing with Judge as an opponent, Higashioka said, “It’s always tough. They have a really good lineup, but that’s baseball. It’s my job. We’ve got to find a way to get past these guys.”
