Aaron Judge was in rare form Tuesday afternoon at a Yankees HOPE Week event honoring Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez.
Not regarding his graciousness when swarmed by fans or even the Connect Four game he lost to Sibomana-Rodriguez, but rather how touched he was by the wrestler on a full ride to UNC out of Long Beach High School.
Sibomana-Rodriguez nearly died at age 6 after chimpanzees viciously attacked him in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo. He suffered severe facial and limb damage while his brother and cousin died in the attack.
Since then, he has had 16 surgeries, and both of his birth parents have died.
“It can teach you a lot. It can teach you a lot,” Judge, who is sidelined with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, said of Sibomana-Rodriguez’s story before the Yankees’ 12-2 win over the White Sox.
He then paused for a few seconds before continuing.
“I couldn’t imagine going through what he did and to see him here, smiling, having fun, speaks volumes,” Judge added. “Especially now being a dad, I couldn’t imagine my son or daughter going through something like that.”
Upon hearing about Sibomana-Rodriguez, Judge quickly decided that would be the event he would attend during HOPE Week.
He was joined by Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, Giancarlo Stanton and David Bednar for what was a surprise going away party at Yankee Stadium with close friends and family. Stanton also asked Sibomana-Rodriguez to throw out the first pitch at Tuesday night’s game.
Judge spent 1-on-1 time with Long Beach’s national champion wrestler throughout the event and received a signed Yankees Dunia shirt from him.
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“[It] definitely adds perspective. … Really wanted to meet him. It was a special moment,” Judge added
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