New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Being the man in charge of leading the most successful franchise in MLB history to its first World Series championship in 15 years comes with a lot of duties and pressure. It sure isn’t easy, and the 2022 (and likely 2024) AL MVP sure seemed to be pressing or at least a bit off-balance at the start of the postseason.
Aaron Judge made his presence known in Game 2
He wasn’t much of a factor in the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals, a big reason why his postseason line is at a modest .167/.346/.389 with a .735 OPS. But ever since the last game against the Royals, you could tell the Yankees star was making better contact and taking more competitive at-bats.
This was also evident in Game 1 of the ALCS against Cleveland. At long last, and after being challenged by Guardians manager Stephen Vogt – he walked Juan Soto to face Judge with the bases loaded earlier in the game – the Captain came through.
- Yankees’ star slugger breaks out of ice-cold slump
- Yankees’ leadoff man continues to step up at the most important time
- Yankees’ Gold Glove infielder has been an unsung hero this post-season
The Yankees ceiling is much higher with Judge in star mode
The Yankees certainly hope it’s the start of a torrid stretch by Judge. If that’s the case, the Guardians and whoever makes it out of the National League (if New York ends up advancing to the Fall Classic, of course) would be in big trouble.
Judge has shown time and time again that he is the best hitter in baseball. He hit a .322 batting average and complemented that with 58 home runs and 144 RBI in the regular season.
The home run, in addition, wasn’t against a “nobody” — he went yard against Hunter Gaddis, one of the best relievers on the Guardians with a 1.57 regular season ERA. Judge, who hadn’t looked comfortable against high heat in the playoffs, took a 95-mph fastball upstairs and sent it to the moon.
He’s back, ladies and gentlemen. The Yankees can certainly win postseason games with Judge struggling, but their ceiling as a team is much, much higher when he’s on.
