Why returning to Yankees was ‘no-brainer' for Judge

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Aaron Judge's decision to return to the New York Yankees in free agency was an easy one. 

However, the process itself was anything but. 

Judge was mic'd up in right field during the Yankees' spring training game against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where he was asked about the free-agency process that landed him an eye-popping nine-year, $360 million contract with the Yankees.

"It was pretty stressful, I'm not going to lie," Judge told ESPN's Kevin Brown, Jessica Mendoza, and Tim Kurkjian. "Everyone said you kind of look forward to that free-agent process where you get to pick where you want to play, get wined and dined by some teams. For me, it was stressful, but I enjoyed it. I had my wife along the way with me, my parents, good people I can bounce it off of. 

"I enjoyed the whole process, met a lot of great people, a lot of great teams. And then ultimately it came down to a decision to return back to the Yankees which I think was the right choice for sure."

Even though Judge was set on returning to the Yankees from the very beginning, there were times when he didn't know if he'd ever dawn the pinstripes again. 

"Yeah, some doubt kind of creeps into your mind," Judge explained. "I told the Yankees from the very beginning this is where I wanted to be, I didn't want to go anywhere else, this was my home. These players, these fans, this city is family to me, but once you kind of enter into that free-agency process you never know what's going to happen. I think it was good for me to see what else was out there, kind of see what was on the other side of the fence. After all the visits, coming back here to the Yankees was a no-brainer for me."

RELATED: Giants' Schmitt earns lofty comparisons to Gold Glove winners

Having been pursued heavily by the Giants, and at the very last minute, the San Diego Padres, Judge's decision to return to the Yankees was an obvious one.

After re-signing with New York, Judge immediately was named the 16th captain in Yankees history

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