Derek Jeter believes Yankees need "more than Aaron Judge" for first World Series triumph since 2009
On Saturday, MLB legends Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez talked about Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees. The Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 in the opening game of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium on Friday.
Aaron Judge has had an incredible season, leading the major leagues with 58 home runs. He is the odds-on favorite to be named the AL MVP come November.
Jeter shared his thoughts about the Yankees' win:
"[0:12] It's great news if you're a Yankees fan," Jeter said via FOX Sports. "In a game like this, you would assume Gerrit Cole would go seven or eight innings, Judge would have a huge game, wasn't the case, and they still were able to win. If you're the Yankees, you're ecstatic going into game two."
Jeter then talked about how important it is for the Yankees to know how to win games when superstar Aaron Judge is not at his best.
"[3:53] In order for the Yankees to win a World Series, it's gonna take more than Aaron Judge. Everyone's gonna have to step up. If you look at this game here, other guys in the lineup stepped up, so that's a positive for the Yankees. Today's a good sign that they are able to win without him."
Derek Jeter talks about Aaron Judge's off day in series opener, backs him to play well in upcoming games
As one of the best performers in the big leagues this season, a lot of the expectations of the Yankees' faithful fall on Aaron Judge's shoulders heading into the playoffs. Having failed to win a World Series title since 2009, many feel that this may finally be their year again.
However, Judge had a poor start to the 2024 postseason, as he went hitless in four at-bats in the opening game of the ALDS. Former Yankees captain Derek Jeter spoke about how Judge should reflect on Friday's performance.
"[2:45] If you're Aaron, you just chalk this up as one game," Jeter said. "You can't try to group it all together with what happens in years past. It's one game, the Yankees won, you got tomorrow off, and then you come back and have a good game in game two."
"[4:05] Aaron's gonna show up, he's going to have a good game, hopefully it's game two for him."
Jeter's advice will be especially useful for Judge. A Yankees player throughout his MLB career, he won the World Series five times.
With a World Series title being one of the major missing pieces in Aaron Judge's great career so far, Yankees fans will be hoping their current captain can do what their former captain did and bring the trophy back to the Bronx.