Derek Jeter spent his entire career as a Yankee after being a first-round pick.
CC Sabathia signed a megadeal that brought him to The Bronx when he was the most sought-after free agent on the market.
Yet neither can relate to the decision Aaron Judge will have to make in the coming weeks — or months — as he hits free agency for the first time, coming off a historic season.
“He’s a homegrown superstar,’’ Sabathia said Wednesday at Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation dinner in Midtown. “You try to find a way to keep him. We’ll see what happens.”
That’s what everyone is doing these days — including Sabathia.
Asked if he made a pitch to Judge to get him to remain in pinstripes, Sabathia said, “Why would I need to pitch for him to stay here? He knows what this place is. He just had the best season in baseball history in a Yankee uniform.”
And he declined to guess where the 30-year-old Judge might end up after the outfielder set a franchise and American League record with 62 homers after turning down the Yankees’ seven-year, $213.5 million extension on Opening Day.
“I don’t know,’’ said Sabathia, who came to the Yankees on a seven-year, $161 million deal following the 2008 season. “I have no idea. I haven’t talked to him about it.”
But he wasn’t convinced a proximity to home would play a role in the decision.
There is some thought that Judge would want to play for the Giants, since he grew up a fan of the team in Linden, Calif., about 90 minutes from San Francisco.
There was a similar belief about Sabathia, as well as Gerrit Cole, both of whom are from California and believed to favor playing on the West Coast.
Yet both ended up with the Yankees.
“Sometimes playing at home could be a headache,’’ Sabathia said with a laugh. “It depends on the guy.”
Jeter, who signed a 10-year, $189 million deal to remain a Yankee a year before hitting free agency in 2001 and a three-year, $51 million contract in 2010, said he’s “sure it will be a difficult decision. Maybe it won’t be.”
He also noted, “I told them I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Judge has said he wants to be a Yankee for life, but also said once he hit free agency, the Yankees would be one of 30 teams he’d be willing to talk to.
Tino Martinez said Judge will have “a lot of opportunities. [The Yankees] have a lot of decisions to make on a lot of guys. He deserves to be back.”