Aaron Judge is closer than ever to winning his first World Series ring.
Two of baseball's brightest stars are finally headed to the Fall Classic, with only the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani standing between the Yankees and their elusive 28th title.
“When he was with the Angels, we battled through the regular season for years. I went back and forth and watched him hit home runs over my head and have good series. ” Judge said Tuesday about his fight with Ohtani. “But to have the opportunity to play against him on the biggest stage in the biggest moment, I think it’s going to be pretty cool to watch.”
The judge went on to call Ohtani “the best fighter in the fight,” a title that will likely be put to the test over the next week.
However, once the World Series is over, the title will go to either the Yankees or Dodgers, not Judge or Ohtani.
And Judge has been at Yankee Stadium for a long time and knows the history surrounding the franchise.
Several times during this postseason, he talked about the “ghost” of the old stadium playing a role in the playoffs. After coming off the best season in franchise history, or any franchise history, Judge and the Yankees still have work to do.
“The journey is always tough, but that's what makes it all fun,” Judge said before the Yankees practiced at the stadium ahead of their first World Series appearance since 2009. Now that you've come this far, this is where the real fun begins. As a kid, I spent years watching Yankees games and World Series championships. The excitement, the emotion, and the city come alive. It's special. I look forward to doing that with this group. ”
Among the Yankees' star power, the spotlight will be on Judge, who was drafted by the Yankees in 2013 and is in the second year of a nine-year, $360 million contract.
Although he has become the face of the franchise, he has once again been inconsistent at the plate in the postseason, posting a .704 OPS with 5 hits, 3 extra-base hits, 7 walks, and 13 strikeouts in 31 at bats through nine games. remains.
As Judge has proven throughout his career, he can perform as well as virtually any other player in the sport. The World Series will be a good opportunity to do that.
He talked about what it was like to be around former players who won titles in the Bronx.
“They have a different aura about them, they walk around and they have some rings on their fingers,” the judge said. “The biggest thing is that they are battle-tested. They have overcome hardships and ups and downs to come out on top.”
Already, this Yankees team can say that about itself, at least to some degree.
After coming out of the gate in good spirits in mid-June with one of the sport's best records (50-22 as of June 15), the Yankees finished the rest of the regular season with mostly unsightly results (44-46). ), but the Yankees turned things around this season. Playing against weaker AL Central opponents in Kansas City and Cleveland in October definitely helped.
“Our confidence has never changed,” the judge said. “The outside noise had a story based on how the game was going, but it didn't faze everyone in the room. We knew what we were capable of.”
They won the district over Baltimore and avoided the wild card round.
“For us, nothing really changed,” the judge said. “We had to answer some tough questions and definitely had to make some adjustments at times, but we're a confident group. It created a sense of family unity.”
