Aaron Judge will no longer share the distinction that the likes of Wee Willie Keeler, Hal Chase — the notorious gambler in the early 1900s — or Don Mattingly have as Yankees captains who never made it to a World Series.
In his ninth MLB season, Judge is headed to the Fall Classic; a stage befitting of this generation’s most remarkable slugger who has donned the responsibility of being the captain of the Yankees so admirably.
He had made it close three times before, losing alongside his Yankees in the ALCS in 2017 (he hit 52 home runs that year, temporarily setting an MLB rookie record), 2019, and 2022 (he hit an AL record 62 and won MVP honors)—all to the Houston Astros.
But the Astros were bounced out of the Wild Card Series by the Detroit Tigers, making the Yankees’ path to their first pennant in 15 years all the more easy considering a pair of AL Central clubs, the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians, provided far more manageable matchups.
By no means was Judge the fixture or superstar of the Yankees’ run to the World Series during the postseason. He hit .154 in the ALDS against Kansas City and .167 in the ALCS against Cleveland — though a dramatic, game-tying two-run home run in the top of the eighth in Game 3 against star closer Emmanuel Clase indicated something could indeed be brewing.
“The journey is always a tough one, but I think that’s the fun in all this: enjoying the good times and the bad times, learning from them, and trying to improve to get to this point,” Judge said on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. “This is where the real fun starts. For years as a kid, watching the Yankees play in the World Series, win the World Series, that excitement, the emotion, how the city comes alive, it’s something definitely special. I’m looking forward to doing that with this group.”
The collective has found itself just four wins away from a title. Giancarlo Stanton continued to build upon his reputation as one of the greatest postseason Yankees ever with a monstrous performance in the ALCS. Juan Soto etched his name in Bronx Bomber lore with a game-winning three-run home run to clinch the pennant for New York in Game 5.
But for as good as Judge’s support has been, this World Series shall zoom squarely on him and the man clad in blue and white who hails from across the world, represents a team from across the country, and is the looming talisman of a Dodgers club that will be inhabiting the dugout across the diamond beginning this Friday in Los Angeles in Game 1.
As the heavy favorite to win the American League MVP after smashing a league-best 58 home runs with 144 RBI, Judge’s performance — unfair or not — will be dissected directly next to the box score of Shohei Ohtani, the likely National League MVP who became the first man in baseball history to hit 50 home runs (54) and steal 50 bases (59).
“I feel like everything [about his game] is obvious,” Judge began when asked about facing Ohtani. “He hits for average, he hits for power, the speed — doing what he did this year with the 50 bases, it got talked about a lot, but I don’t think it got talked about enough. He’s an impressive athlete, the best player in the game. What an ambassador for this sport.”
His postseason has been far more productive than Judge’s, granted he inhabits a far deeper lineup that provides much more support. Ohtani is batting .286 in his playoff debut with a .934 OPS, three home runs, and 10 RBI in 11 games. Two of those round-trippers and six of those RBI came in Los Angeles’ six-game NLCS triumph over the New York Mets.
As regular season success went out the window when the postseason began, so should LDS and LCS performances. Judge and Ohtani are two of the game’s most transcendental stars, and their clash in the World Series — if America’s Pastime is lucky enough — will be passed along the annals of baseball’s mythology for generations to come.
