Aaron Judge's list of regular season accomplishments and history is longer than his CVS awards.
But the Yankees captain would crumple them up like a receipt and throw them in the trash in exchange for the one big thing missing from his resume: a ring.
Judge is coming off another historic season, but almost every time he achieved a new feat this year, he downplayed it and talked about his desire to win a championship.
Now he finally has another chance to lead the Yankees there.
“I get mad every time I don't get the job done,” Judge said Friday night at Yankee Stadium after the team had its final practice before Saturday's ALDS Game 1 against the Royals.
“As a member of the team, I take a lot of responsibility for that and I think if we don't win everything it's my fault.
“But we have a good group. As I've said all along, we have good chemistry, we have good guys here, and we've been through a lot of battles. So we've got the ship in the right position. We're definitely excited to get back there and go out there and do our job. We're just going to take it game by game and take care of our job and do what we have to do. If you do it, you will get where you want to be.”
As he stood in the clubhouse drenched in champagne last week after the Yankees clinched the AL East title, Judge said he was one win away from reaching the World Series as a rookie in 2017 and will be there every year. He said he was looking forward to it.
But the Yankees haven't gotten that close since then, and the wait for the franchise's 28th title is only getting longer.
Judge has been dominant in the regular season for many years, but his October left something to be desired.
In 44 games and six playoff appearances, Judge has a .211 batting average and a .772 OPS, but much of that accomplishment came in the first three postseasons.
Since the 2020 playoffs (sample size is 17 games), Judge is batting .143 with a .565 OPS and 25 strikeouts.
Fans have also expressed their feelings to him.
Just one week after hitting a record-breaking 62 home runs, Judge started the postseason 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts and one walk in Game 2 of the 2022 ALDS, but was booed.
“It's not really about putting pressure on anyone,” the judge said. “This is the same game we've been playing all year.”
And throughout the years, throughout his career, Judge has had the same singular goal: to win a championship.
“From day one, that's all he wanted,” said Juan Soto, who called Judge “the greatest hitter of all time.”
Judge feels responsible for his failures this past October, but Giancarlo Stanton suggested it's not just his broad shoulders.
“He and we both understand the weight of what we have to do, the importance of this time, the importance of bringing a championship to this city,” Stanton said. “This is why as the years go by, we take this time for granted less and less. Moments like this, times like this are not guaranteed. And as the years go by without achieving it, , that window will never open.”
It won't even be the prime of a judge's career.
The 32-year-old has seven years left on his contract after this season, but the only time Soto is guaranteed to hit in front of him is this October, which could be his best chance to bring it home. do not have. title.
Two years after setting the AL home run record, Judge has become an even more complete hitter this season, hitting .322 with 58 home runs and a 1.159 OPS in 158 games.
These gaudy regular season statistics often put him in the same conversation as Yankees legends Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris, all of whom were champions. I also got a ship.
“I think there's no question he's one of the best players on the team,'' manager Aaron Boone said. “But that's what he's playing for.” [championship]. That's why he doesn't do this to gain personal honor. He embodies it, he lives it, and that's what we all strive for. If he can win it all, his legacy will certainly be elevated. ”
