2024-10-16 14:40:00
The Yankees captain entered Game 2 of the American League Championship Series batting .133 (2-for-15) with a .564 OPS and just one RBI across five playoff games this fall. This wasn’t the first time in his career he went from being a nuisance in the regular season to a lesser concern in the playoffs. After crushing 62 home runs in an MVP season in 2022, Judge went 5-for-36 with three RBIs and two walks over nine games that October. Until he got the monkey off his back Tuesday night, Judge’s playoff slide had reached the point where even the opposing team wasn’t so afraid of the mighty slugger.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt went so far as to pull the ultimate insult in the second inning when he opted to intentionally walk Juan Soto to load the bases for Judge. The decision seemed to bewilder Judge’s teammates in the Yankees dugout. Anthony Volpe waved his arms in front of him and declared, “No way! No way!” Jazz Chisholm stared into Cleveland’s dugout with wide eyes, in apparent disbelief.
“That’s super disrespectful,” Chisholm told FOX Sports of intentionally walking Soto ahead of Judge. “It’s Soto, we understand he’s playing great and everything. I mean, I would walk Soto in any other situation. But it’s an insult there.”
Left-hander Nestor Cortes added: “That’s crazy. You’re intentionally walking Soto to pitch to the MVP.”
Judge, who responded by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field and padded New York’s lead to 3-0 in the process, downplayed Cleveland’s decision. He said he didn’t take it personally and joked that he “would probably walk Soto, too, at this point.” But Judge’s teammate Oswaldo Cabrera told FOX Sports he thought the intentional walk to Soto might have woken Judge up. Cabrera believes Judge wants those types of moments to remind himself he’s the captain of the Yankees and provide another edge to his at-bats.
Judge being woken up out of his postseason slumber should petrify opposing teams, particularly because the Yankees were managing just fine without him hitting the cover off of the ball. The Bronx Bombers comfortably dismissed the Royals in the ALDS, and they had a 4-2 lead against Cleveland on Tuesday before Judge raised the decibel level in the seventh inning. Though he has helped out and has had better swings and productive at-bats, New York has now cruised to a 2-0 lead in the ALCS against the Guardians without Judge’s heroics.
That is to say, Judge is warming up at exactly the right time. If the Yankees take care of business the rest of this series — and all signs are flashing that they will — then they will need the monster, MVP version of Judge to win against more potent offenses in the World Series. The National League Championship Series features two more formidable lineups than Cleveland’s, and whichever team comes out of that alive knows it will need to mash against the Juan Soto and Judge-powered Yankees.
“Always a matter of time with Aaron,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Definitely good to see him put one in the seats and really give us a cushion there.”
The Guardians — not to mention the Dodgers and the Mets — can only hope Judge is not just getting started.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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