Most often, players whose careers fall under the category of “legendary” earn this moniker through postseason success; others, like New York Yankees and Team USA captain Aaron Judge, have almost everything you could wish for as a baseball player except for a championship ring. Judge, who came just three wins short of baseball immortality with New York just two seasons ago, had a chance to taste a similar kind of glory with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic; but, of course, it was not in the cards for the three-time, reigning AL MVP.
Judge, who is heading into his 11th season with the Yankees, slashed .222 with an OPS of .845, two homers, and five RBIs for Team USA in 7 games. Though he went hitless with 3 strikeouts in the final game against Venezuela, Judge still put everything he had on the field throughout the entire tournament. After the final game, he made it clear that his job isn’t over, stating, “I’m always fired up for the Yankees, but I’m still pissed about this. I’m looking forward to the next time we get a chance to put on the red, white, and blue and take care of business.”
Job Not Done
Considering his comments on how “there’s nothing like” the WBC, it must truly pain Judge to once again come up just short of his end goal. It might even haunt him more than the Yankees’ failures in the 2024 World Series; in fact, he hailed the crowds at the WBC as some of the best he’s ever seen: “The World Series I was in, the crowd here, the crowd we had when we played against Mexico, it’s bigger and better than the World Series. The passion that these fans have, representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there’s nothing like it.”
This is exactly the kind of “passion” for winning that the Yankees front office clearly does not have, with their only significant moves this offseason being able to retain Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. If the Yankees don’t commit to Judge soon, he may lose out on any more chances of making it back to the Fall Classic.
Closing Window
Last year’s AL batting champion and MVP is quickly running out of time to secure a World Series ring; turning 34 in April, Judge’s window is beginning to close despite the fact that he just won his third MVP, and it’s not because of a decline in production. With fellow stars Gerrit Cole, Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Rodon all on the wrong side of 30, the Yankees have to prioritize going after a championship with this current roster. It is a disservice to Judge on the Yankees’ part that they are not doing everything they can to win a World Series, especially when teams like the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers are not holding back, financially or otherwise, to put together the best possible roster.
Perhaps this is exactly the kind of motivation that Judge needs: he has almost singlehandedly carried the Yankees offense over the past few years, and without him the Yankees might not have even made the playoffs last season. So, with a new season right around the corner and another shot to break free of the “unclutch” narrative, Judge might just have another MVP-caliber season in him, and maybe this time he’ll finally finish the job in October.
(Top Image Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
