Aaron Judge says that when he goes back to his family’s home in Linden, California, he should double-check the closet in his parents’ bedroom because he can’t believe that a Superwoman cape hasn’t shown up in the last 25 years.

“If it weren’t for my mom, I wouldn’t be a New York Yankee,” Judge said. “The advice she gave me when I was a kid, like how to tell right from wrong, how to treat people, and how to go the extra mile and do extra work, and all that kind of stuff. She has helped me become the person I am now.”

Buy something for Mom When Yankees manager Joe Girardi recently said that Judge’s presence and style reminded him of Derek Jeter, Judge said that he was flattered but that he was just trying to be “the best Aaron Judge I can be.”

Judge wasn’t always so accepting, which makes him laugh now.

“They made it hard for me to go outside and play with my friends or play video games,” Judge said. “They’d tell me, ‘Hey, you’ve got homework to do. You need to finish your math and science assignments. Then you can go play if you still have time before dinner.’ Same kind of thing. I didn’t like it when I was young, but now I’m very grateful for what they did for me. In April 1992, Patty and Wayne got Judge the day after he was born. John, who is his bigger brother, also became a teacher. Judge was in grade school when he asked why he didn’t look like his parents. “I think it was like, ‘I don’t look like you, Mom. I don’t look like you, Dad. Like, ‘What the heck is going on?'” Judge said. “They didn’t rҽally tell me that I was adopted. I said, ‘OK, that’s fine with me.’ You’re still my mom and the only mom I know. You’re still my dad and the only dad I know.

“Not much has changed. I rҽally don’t remember much about it because it wasn’t that important. They just told me I was adopted, so I asked, “Is it OK if I go play outside?”

Judge said that he talks to his parents every single day. Judge said that he had just gotten off the phone with his mom, who was doing yard work, a few hours before he was scheduled to play at Yankee Stadium. Judge said he would send his mother flowers and a present for Mother’s Day and then call her to tell her what he always does. Judge said, “I’ll just thank her again for everything she’s done and let her know that I wouldn’t be where I am now without her love and guidance.”