Even before Opening Day, Aaron Judge qualified as a singular talent. He towers over his peers in stature, and outpaces almost all of them in ability. He blends brawn with grace, a keen intelligence as a hitter supplementing raw power. He exudes an inner calm, impressing teammates, as fellow Yankee Gerrit Cole put it, “with just how even-keel he is.”

These qualities are precious. They separate Judge from the pack. At the outset of the 2022 season, though, he furthered his case as an outlier. He became the rarest of the rare in Major League Baseball: A player talented enough to merit, and confident enough to reject, a nine-figure contract extension from his employers. The $213.5 million package did not convince Judge to sign. But it did raise the eyebrows of one of the few players who can relate.

“A lot of the people, most of the people, even me, say ‘That’s a lot of money,” Mets infielder Robinson Canó said. “But he’s the one who knows what he’s looking for.”

Nine years ago, Canó occupied a similar place as Judge. He hit in the center of the Yankees lineup and served as the centerpiece for the franchise’s plans. In the spring of 2013, as he entered his walk year, he turned down an extension and decided to test the market. The final offer from the Yankees in Canó’s free agency was seven years and $175 million. He signed with Seattle for $240 million over 10.

Better than almost anyone, Canó understood the delicacy of Judge’s position. Like Judge, Canó had hoped to finish his career in pinstripes. Canó also sought proper value for his performance. To Canó, Judge’s decision did not reveal him to be greedy or delusional, despite the heft of the proposal and the legitimate concern about his physical stability.

“This is the only chance he has to get his max,” Canó said. “He has been great for the city. He deserves to get what he wants … At the end of the day, all these years, he’s given a discount to the team. He wants to stay there. He just has to focus and play and hopefully have a great season this year.”

The quest of Judge — a search for sustained health and his usual outstanding production as he approaches his 30th birthday this month — figures to be among the most compelling individual campaigns of 2022. It will occur amid a unique backdrop, inside the pressure cooker of New York, with the public already aware of the Yankees’ internal appraisal of Judge. As the Yankees attempt to end a 12-season championship drought, the face of the franchise has set himself an even loftier goal. He wants to be compensated at the level of superstars like Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, despite his advanced age and physical precarity.

In the days after Judge committed to free agency, The Athletic canvassed half a dozen players, all of whom had found riches on the market, about what it feels like to play a season when the possibility of generational wealth is only months away. Several recalled feeling external pressure and internal doubt. The combination could cloud their focus. The daily rituals of the game offered succor. Yet the uncertainty still lurked beneath the surface, players said. “It’s human nature to think about those things,” said Red Sox infielder Trevor Story, the recent recipient of a $140 million deal.