New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge reflects on team's exit from the postseason
A long offseason beckons for New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge.
A historic regular season had him as the frontrunner for the American League MVP award, but the slugger was unable to help his team lift the World Series title, which was his main goal this season.
The New York Yankees suffered a 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros that sent them crashing out of the postseason. After the game, Judge looked back on his accomplishments during the season. He stated that it didn't matter to him as he wanted to help the team achieve their postseason goals instead.
"If we're not the last standing, it doesn't matter what you do, what happened. It's a failure."
- Aaron Judge https://t.co/bGogeP1Kx0
"If we're not the last team standing, it doesn't matter what you do, what happened. It's a failure," Aaron Judge said. "We came up short. We didn't finish our goal. Our first step was to win our division and put ourselves in a good position to go to the postseason. We got step one done, but couldn't capitalize on a couple of things in the CS."
Judge struggled this postseason. He batted an abysmal .139/.184/.490 with just two home runs and three RBIs. In Game 4, which was an elimination game, he went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
The superstar slugger was ostracized for not delivering in October as he finished this year's playoffs by going 5-for-36. Despite his postseason shortcomings, the contract talks surrounding Judge will still be a hotly contested topic this offseason.
Aaron Judge's future with the New York Yankees
Aaron Judge had a season for the ages in 2022.
He broke the record for the most American League home runs scored in a single campaign with 62. The slugger finished the season with a .311/.425/.686 slash line and a 1.111 OPS with 131 home runs for the high-octane New York Yankees offense. At times, he single-handedly dragged his team to wins.
After seven seasons donning the Yankee pinstripes, Judge is now eligible to seek a move elsewhere. The one-year, $19 million contract to avoid salary arbitration that he signed earlier this year will expire.
It will be interesting to see where the superstar slugger heads next as most teams have him as their top target. It goes without saying, of course, that any team that's lucky enough to land Judge will bolster its chances of having an excellent season.
Despite his troubles this postseason, he could still be a key piece for a deep playoff run.