When Aaron Judge hit his 300th career home run at the White Sox's Guaranteed Rate Field, it was a scene straight out of a movie.
The bullpen salute, the teammates crowding around home plate, the rowdy dugout congratulating the captain.
Perhaps the colour of Judge's batting gloves and armband could have been just as unmistakable.
Indeed, the Yankees slugger is coming off a second MVP-caliber season in 2024 that could put him on the radar for Roger Maris' all-time win, but his signature style is the indistinguishable seaweed-green accessory he wears almost every night.
“I've been wearing it my whole career,” Judge told The Post, referring to a collaboration he did with former sponsor Adidas in 2019. “It's a little homage to the city and what the Statue of Liberty represents. I think it's super cool.”
Referred to as “Mint” by most on and off the team, the color is a direct homage to New York City's most famous emblem, specifically the “patina” color resulting from the oxidation of its bronze statue.
Judge has been incorporating Jordan Brand gear with mint accents since the Yankees played their first series of 2024 in Houston, but the six-time All-Star debuted the look in full for the first time against Cleveland on April 13, donning batting gloves, armbands and even elbow guards with hex cords.
Since then, Judge, who spent the majority of his nine years in the major leagues in the team's traditional navy, white and black uniforms, has barely taken off the mint colored one.
“I really like it,” Judge said, “and I think it pairs really well with the pinstripes.”
Judge's role as a leader in the Yankees clubhouse may extend to being a uniform guru, and teammates were intrigued when they heard about the 6-foot-7 star's unique gear.
“[Judge] “He had it on all his equipment,” outfielder Alex Verdugo said, “and people loved it and started ordering it.”
What started as a re-creation by Judge five years ago has exploded into a mint craze that even Ben & Jerry's is impressed with.
Other Yankees players featured include Verdugo, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes Jr., Oswaldo Cabrera and Austin Wells, and are outfitted with accessories including batting gloves, cleats, arm sleeves and even catching equipment.
“I saw some of my buddies wearing them, and mint is like the Statue of Liberty,” Cabrera said. “I was like, 'I bet a few pairs would match in this color.' I saw the shoe and I was like, 'I've got to customize this with the guys I work with and Custom Cleats.' I was like, 'This is going to be amazing.' When you get that color, it feels so good.”
The signature moment of the team's fashion frenzy may have come on April 24, when Cortez contacted glove manufacturer 44 Pro to produce a pair of mint-colored gloves with a navy torch and orange flames embedded in the webbing.
“I don't think I've ever seen a Statue of Liberty glove before,” said Benny Miller, who designs and ships the company's products. “I was amazed that no one had ever come up with this idea.”
Miller expected Cortes to simply post a photo of the glove on Instagram to promote the company, but the left-hander took it a step further and debuted the glove on June 18 against the Orioles.
Since then, Cortez has used the bright leather three more times, even inking the torch logo on his sliding mitts, and later influenced Verdugo to request a mint glove from 44 Pro.
“I was shocked,” Miller said. “I was like, 'Man, I can't believe they're using Statue of Liberty gloves in a game.'”
MLB rules state that pitchers' gloves “shall not be white or gray, except for piping, or in any way obstructive in the umpire's judgment,” and Cortes himself has run into issues in the past having to remove his emblems with a marker during games. But Cortes hasn't had any issues wearing his glove multiple times in 2024, likely due to teams' looser color codes in years past, Miller said.
The Yankees, too, are keen to not stick too closely to the basic colour codes of the past.
“I'm going to use a few colors this season to match everyone,” Torres said. “I think it's weird and cool. A lot of guys are doing it now, and I think it's fun.”
Mint is the color of the New York Liberty, named after the statue, but is rarely used by other New York sports teams, and more broadly, MLB teams have rarely been united in a single color outside of the major leagues.
“I've never seen an entire MLB team just pick one new color and mix it up,” said Miller, a self-described “baseball equipment nerd.” “I can't think of anything on this scale. [with] Almost every player.”
The Yankees, who are aiming for their first World Series title since 2009, believe that even matching this simple accessory will help bring the team together.
“We talked to each other and said, 'Hey, I think this is a cool accent color that we could all wear,'” Judge said. “It just goes to show that we all identify with this.”
Mint will likely remain a mainstay for Judge and other key players as the Bombers finish the regular season and head into October in pursuit of the AL East title — a color the Yankees have not allowed in the past but that now carries deeper meaning.
“It's something new for us,” Cabrera said. “It looks great and it means a lot to the city. It's not just colors. It's colors that represent the Yankees.”
