"Aaron Judge has not been a good postseason performer" - MLB insider believes Yankees star has to lead team to championship title to cement legacy
New York Yankees and MLB insiders Ryan Sampson and Joel Sherman recently discussed Aaron Judge and the Yankees' chances of securing a championship in the upcoming postseason. Currently, the Yankees lead the AL East and are in a strong position to punch their tickets for the playoffs.
Judge is having an excellent season, and the Yankees captain is very much leading from the front in the 2024 campaign. With 53 home runs, 132 RBI and a .321 batting average, it is not hard to see why Judge is a popular choice to take home the AL MVP award come the end of the season.
However, Judge has often fallen short of his own standards in big playoff games through his career, and Sherman believes he must right those past wrongs this season to solidify his legacy at Yankee Stadium.
"A lot of big at-bats are going to come to Judge in this postseason, and as Judge goes, often the Yankees go. Judge has not been a good postseason performer, there's home runs there, but there is low batting average, strikeouts in a third of his at-bats and no signature moments yet, as a Yankee for his time in the playoffs." [0:12]
"We're talking about legacy stuff for Judge now, he's a retired number, he's a monument park player, that's the trajectory he's on. But, if you're going to become 'The Yankee' Yankee, got to do some stuff in October, got to win championships." [1:01]
Aaron Judge hits home run as Yankees clinch series against Red Sox
The New York Yankees beat the rival Boston Red Sox, 5-2, at Yankee Stadium in the final game of the series on Sunday, as the Bronx Bombers clinched the four-game series. The hosts took control of this one early, scoring four runs in the first three innings.
Judge hit his 53rd home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning, a 445-foot blast to center field that was worth two runs for the hosts. After a brief "home run drought" over the past few weeks, normal service has very much resumed as Judge hit his second home run of the past three days.
Next, Judge and the Yankees head to T-Mobile Park to take on the Seattle Mariners, playing the first of three on Tuesday. Luis Gil (Yankees) and Bryan Woo (Mariners) take to the mound as game one has all the makings of a great pitchers' duel.