After 9 months, 66 straight starts, and a run of sheer offensive dominance, the New York Yankees’ captain, Aaron Judge, finally got his day off. Yep, he was not in the Yankees’ lineup for Thursday’s series finale in Kansas City. It was his first day off in 2025. Would we call it coincidental that Judge’s last day off in 2024 was also in Kansas City for the Yankees’ 68th game?

Maybe. Or it could also be a strategic rest. We’ll tell you why. Apparently, Yankees manager Aaron Boone already circled Judge’s day off nearly a week ago. But what went on behind the scenes?

Well, Judge had a bet with Boone. It was – if he hits a home run in each of the first two games against the Royals, the skipper will have to reconsider his day off. And that’s what exactly happened. Two homers in first two games. Did Boone have a choice afterwards?

But it makes all the sense from the manager’s perspective as well. In the first two games against the Royals, Judge went deep. Now, moving ahead, the Yankees have 16 games in 16 days. The team is scheduled to reach Boston on Friday Morning as they have a night game against the Red Sox on Saturday and then again on Sunday. So, why not give your best player a bit of a breather before the hectic run?

“I never want him out of the lineup, but I feel like one of those that hopefully pays some dividends in the long run of keeping him fresh,” Boone said at Kauffman stadium. “Today (Thursday) seemed like the day that made some sense.”

Well, Judge deserved an off day. After all, across his first 66 games, he batted .394 with a 1.269 OPS with 25 home runs and 59 RBIs. In fact, he safely reached the base in 62 out of 66 games. Not to forget, he made it to the base multiple times in an MLB high 51 games. That makes him just the third player in the modern era to achieve that. But hey, there’s more!

Aaron Judge joins elite group of legends before his day off

Heading into his off day, Aaron Judge was batting an MLB high .394 with a .490 on-base percentage and .779 slugging percentage with 98 hits and a 1.269 OPS. The are extraordinary numbers but just so you know, Judge homered in three straight games and made it to base in 54 straight road games. This is the streak that now ties him for the fourth-longest such run by a Yankee.

Yes, he’s now sitting with three legends – Babe Ruth (62), Lou Gehrig (60) and Derek Jeter (60 and 54). Speaking of Judge’s performance, Clarke Schmidt recently said, “I think it’s getting out of hand at this point.”

Isn’t that true? Judge’s latest home run streak marked the 16th time throughout his career that he’s gone deep thrice back-to-back. The last time it happened was in late September last year when he tied his career-high streak of five games.

Schmidt added, “Every time he goes up there, he’s ready to do damage. Obviously, the average is what it is. If it’s not a home run, it’s probably a hit.” Indeed! Even on Wednesday against the Royals, Judge reached base multiple times.

With this sort of form, a third MVP award is perhaps on the horizon for the Yankees captain.