The New York Yankees fans, even the most ardent, are getting a little tired of Aaron Judge’s positive platitudes with no results forthcoming. Those who are thoroughly entrenched in his stable listen to them, but they are getting tired of all the positive news that turns out to be nothing. His detractors are already tired of the promises of a 2017 superstar that really hasn’t helped his team to victory, season after season.
I have always been a Judge supporter; the young man has tremendous potential, but injuries always get in the way of him truly becoming a Yankee star. If his career were to end right now, he would hardly be mentioned in the Yankee history books. Right now, his only claim to fame is the 57 home runs he hit in 2017.
Both positive and negative Judge fans wonder if it’s his incredible size, his muscular build, or his work out program. They also wonder about what the Yankee training staff has done to keep him healthy. In 2020 he got off to a torrid start leading the American League in home runs, only to be derailed by a strange leg ailment running the bases that kept him away from the team for over two weeks. Then he returned to the team only to be missing his timing and failing to hit the ball. For the last month of the regular season, he failed the team miserably, not hitting a home run and only driving in two runs for the month as the Tampa Bay Rays overtook the Yankees in the East.
To be completely fair, Judge for the New York Yankees did hit two homers and drove in three runs in the ALCS, but it was too late to resurrect another wasted season. Now Judge is spouting his usual positive comments on how good he feels going into his winter workouts. He also felt very positive about the moves the Yankees will make this offseason:
“I think we’re going to be adding a couple of guys free agent-wise to our team,†Judge said. “They’re going to help give us that boost to get to the next step. Every year I’ve played, we’ve been in the playoffs and had an OK run here and there, but it’s not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to bring a championship back home to New York.â€
An okay run? Okay, is getting shut out of the World Series, okay? This positive puff talk is getting boring from Judge; we’ve heard it all before, many times over. For the Yankees to be successful, yes, they have to do all the things he says, but he also has to perform, stay on the field, and hit with the power we all know he has. Many fans, including this one, would rather see him doing more Ichiro Suzuki type stretching than building more muscle.
I am still a supporter of the possible future captain; there is absolutely no question; he has the talent. The whole key to his success is to stay healthy. Fans get behind players that win for the Yankees. The last two year run of DJ LeMahieu proves that. Now DJ is in free agency, and the Yankees number one priority is to get him back, while there is talk about trading Judge. Aaron Judge has got to change that in the upcoming season. Because another season of injuries could be the end for Judge, the New York Yankees will pay Judge $10 million this upcoming season. He will be a free agent at the end of the 2022 season.