Aaron Judge has warm thoughts about Oakland Coliseum, where it all began for him

OAKLAND, Calif. — A poll of big-leaguers almost certainly — and by a wide margin — would tab the crumbling Oakland Coliseum as their least favorite ballpark.

Aaron Judge views the Coliseum a bit differently.

Much of that, of course, has to do with Judge being from nearby Linden, which is a little over an hour's drive from here, meaning plenty of friends and family in attendance when he and the Yankees are in town.

But there’s another significant reason: It was here that Judge first truly felt like a Yankee.

And it was several years before he made his big-league debut in August 2016 at the Stadium.

It was June 11, 2013, about a week after the Yankees selected Judge 32nd overall in the 2013 draft, and it’s an afternoon/night the now 29-year-old hasn’t forgotten.

And won’t.

"The nerves, the jitters," Judge said with a smile Saturday of what he most remembered about the day. "Having my family here was pretty special, [but] being around guys that I grew up watching on TV and now I get a chance to share a clubhouse with them for a brief moment was [amazing]."

Though Derek Jeter was in Tampa at the time rehabbing a broken left ankle — the future Hall of Fame shortstop would retire after the 2014 season — Judge came across plenty of veterans. Among them: Mariano Rivera, Brett Gardner, CC Sabathia (who is from Vallejo, which is even closer to the Coliseum than Linden, about 45 minutes away), Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Kevin Youkilis and Travis Hafner.

"I played catch with Gardy, got a chance to take some fly balls out there in center with him, too, and never in my mind would I have thought I’d be playing next to him just a couple years later," Judge said. "It was overall just a great experience."

Making it all the more memorable was the welcoming vibe Judge immediately felt, which is not always the case when veterans interact with draft picks for the first time. Sabathia, who was that night’s starter, showed Judge what it's like to be a leader and good teammate — an attribute that is part of Judge's skill set now, as shortstop Andrew Velazquez mentioned last week.

"CC, he was starting that day, I grabbed something to eat in the food room [in the clubhouse] and I just kind of sat down by myself and CC says, ‘Hey, man, come sit over here. Aren’t you from Northern California?’ " Judge said. "And we just kind of started chit-chatting. You wouldn’t have expected that guy was about to be pitching that night for the New York Yankees, he was that humble and that outgoing with me."

Judge continued, still smiling: "I was able to talk with Andy Pettitte a little bit and some other guys. It was a pretty cool experience. They were coming up introducing themselves to me and I was like, ‘I already know who you guys are.’ "

Judge took batting practice early in the afternoon — around 2 p.m. — and then was surprised when he was invited to take part in regular batting practice hours later.

Hence, when people mention the Oakland Coliseum to Judge, his thoughts have nothing to do with a deteriorating facility.

"Positive knowing I have a lot of family and friends in the stands, [but also] this is the first time I really wore any pinstripes or wore the Yankees logo on a field, being around the guys," Judge said. "That’s a special moment I know I’ll never forget. And I always keep that in the back of my mind — hey, this is kind of where it all started. Look how far you’ve come. You came in here as a draft pick kid out of Fresno State and you didn’t know what the future could hold, and then now getting the chance to wear the pinstripes the past [few] years and be a part of this great organization. It’s something that I’ve definitely never tried to take for granted."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.