Tucked into the corner of Aaron Judge’s spare locker at Yankee Stadium, a blackboard is covered in polaroid pictures.
It’s hard to make out exactly what the tiny photos portray when passing by, but it’s clear that each, held in place by gold pins and clips, captures a celebratory moment. Ask Judge for more details about the board, however, and he’ll point you in another direction.
“Cabrera started that,” he told the Daily News. “You gotta ask Cabrera.”
Judge meant Oswaldo Cabrera, the Yankees’ bubbly super utilityman. His versatile skillset now includes photography, as he’s been taking pictures of the Yankees’ team-determined player of the game after wins ever since they beat the Angels in Anaheim on May 29.
The first photo featured Luis Gil, who allowed one earned run and struck out nine over a season-high eight innings that day.
“One day I said I wanted to bring the polaroid for the game because I wanted to get a cool picture,” Cabrera told The News. “So after that game, Gil was the MVP. I was like, ‘Let me take a picture of Gil right now!’ And after that it was like, ‘What about if we do the board?’”
Cabrera’s camera has since become part of the Yankees’ post-win ceremonies. Those also include deafening music and a WWE-style championship belt, which is awarded to the player of the game. In addition to taking a photo, that player must also make a speech in front of his peers, a tradition that’s gone back several seasons.
“Everybody loves it. Now it’s part of [the postgame celebration],” Cabrera said, a hint of pride in his voice. “The guy who gets the belt knows that we have to take the picture.”
Cabrera said that he initially bought his camera so that he could take pictures with his girlfriend during that road trip to California, which also stopped in San Diego and San Francisco. In an age where digital is dominant, they wanted hard copies of their memories.
With that in mind, Cabrera took his camera to work in hopes of snapping a few fun shots.
The 25-year-old’s job has been going well lately, as Cabrera is hitting .313/.365/.478 with three homers and nine RBI over his last 28 games despite inconsistent playing time. However, he said he’s only had his photo taken once since his camera became a postgame staple — not that he’s complaining.
“He’s just such a good person and such a good professional and such a good teammate,” Aaron Boone said. “He embodies what you want. It’s team over self, and he lives that. But I also think he’s worked really hard at making adjustments.
“He’s worked hard to move the needle and to get better.”
In addition to posing, players of the game sign Cabrera’s photos with silver and gold markers. He then adds an inscription that includes who the Yankees played that day and other details, like the honored player’s nickname.
When Cabrera first spoke about his new responsibility in early July, he said that Juan Soto led the team in portraits.
“It’s very cool,” Soto told The News. “I think it’s a great way to remember a lot of stuff and have a little bit of fun with it.”
Judge, in the midst of another MVP-caliber campaign, has since taken the lead from Soto. In addition to clubbing home runs and overseeing the Yankees’ clubhouse, he is responsible for the board.
“Judgey has the board because he’s the captain,” Cabrera explained, adding that only the camera goes on the road. “He’s the guy in charge of that. I’m just the guy who creates it.”
With the Yankees approaching 80 wins, space is running out on the board, which isn’t any bigger than something a kid would use for a school project. Once it’s filled up, Cabrera plans on getting a “bigger, more beautiful” board.
His hope is that the new one ends with pictures of plastic-wrapped lockers, champagne showers and a World Series trophy. If so, he will have documented the many steps it took for the Yankees to get there, one polaroid at a time.
“It’s something that I want to see at the end of this year with that ring,” Cabrera said. “It’s the thing that we are working for. And I think that will be cool having all those moments together.”
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