TAMPA — Aaron Boone said how grateful he is to have a retired celebrity coach in Yankees camp.
Part of it has to do with his DNA. Boone is the grandson, son and brother of major leaguers, and enjoying and respecting the lore of the game is in his blood. Part of that is because the players who wore the uniforms of Willie Randolph, Ron Guidry, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams and CC Sabathia brought more than just their legacies to Steinbrenner Field. That’s something I’m grateful for.
They invest in processes and products. It’s hard to miss that even the oldest members, Mr. Randolph (age 69) and Mr. Guidry (age 73), still approach each day with enthusiasm. It’s not here as a hood ornament. Their wisdom and achievements are valuable.
And it’s baked into them that they all share another quality. They hold a place in both the Yankees’ canon and the hearts of the fan base for helping build championship numbers. They have influence within the walls because they have experience traversing from pitcher and catcher to the canyon of heroes.
You don’t have to have a ring to be a Yankee forever. However, no organization has retired more players and managers than the Yankees’ 23. Of those, the only one owned by a player who didn’t win it all with the Yankees is Don Mattingly’s No. 23. He remains beloved, but he was also the only great Yankee to never win a pinstripe ring, a relationship that began more than a century ago with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
That’s what Aaron Judge is fighting for right now. When asked if Boone could join the lineage of Yankee greats that includes Ruth, Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter, Boone said he would be the Rookie of the Year, MVP and 2022 Yankees great. He cited the significance of his 62 home runs in 2017. “He needs to win a title,” Boone said.
This is especially emphasized because the Yankees have 27 players with even more retired players.
That’s why Judge needs to be a captain like Jeter, who won the World Series with the Yankees. Not Mr. Mattingly, who didn’t.
“If he stays healthy over the next few years and lives a long life, I think he’ll start to put up numbers that rival the greats,” Boone said. “We just have to deal with the championship part.”
2017 felt closer to me than it does now. In Judge’s rookie season, the Yankees lost to the Astros in Game 7 of the ALCS, but his sign-stealing tricks were revealed in later years. But at that moment, Judge was just getting started with a young core of Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino, and Gleyber Torres was almost there as well. It seemed like a great ending was coming. But for now, the only two left are Judge, who will be 32 in April, and Torres, who will turn 4 this year.
So far, 2017 has not been a stepping stone. That was the peak. The Yankees are the closest team to the World Series not only since the Judge era, but since winning in 2009. They also lost to the Astros in six games in 2019 in the ALCS, lost in a four-game sweep in 2022, and missed the playoffs last year. Part of the reason for this was due to an unusual situation in which Judge suffered a severe injury to his toe that lasted eight weeks. The Yankees’ offense, which had been struggling despite its brilliance, collapsed.
The antidote is thought to be the acquisition of Juan Soto, not to mention the rejuvenation of injured seniors and the rise of young players like Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells. Soto and Judge are expected to form a power/on-base duet similar to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who helped the Dodgers win 100 games last year and finish 2-3 as National League MVP.
The most immediate impact for Soto is that Judge will be hitting triples regularly for the first time since 2021 and will likely move to center frequently, as he did in his 2022 MVP campaign.
When asked if Soto could delay his best season, Judge replied: I think my best seasons are when I’m lifting a trophy. ”
he understands that. This is a talented roster, but there are a lot of concerns about age, injuries, and how well they will fare in New York. But that talent could mean big things for Judge. For example, hitting 43 home runs in a season would give him 300 home runs and move him into seventh place on the Yankees’ all-time list, ahead of Jeter, Jorge Posada and Williams (all of whom have retired their numbers). That would keep him third in Yankees slugging percentage behind Ruth and Gehrig and behind DiMaggio and Mantle.
This is Judge’s latest pet in pinstriped company. He can hold his own in many categories. But it’s not the most important place in the Bronx.
“That’s why we’re here [to win it all]” said the judge. “That’s why I wake up every day and work hard, not only on the field, but in the offseason. To bring a championship back to this city, to this team. That’s why we’re all here. Getting to the finish line. But a lot of the pieces we’ve added to this room, especially some of the changes we’ve made with the coaches and the players we’ve brought in, all put us right. I think we’re going to push in that direction and ultimately be the last team standing.”
After all, being a Yankee and being the centerpiece of the last remaining team is how we evaluate all greats.
