The New York Yankees are hopeful of ending their championship drought since 2009. At the start of the season, it looked like the team was carrying forward, their slow pace like last year, but kaboom- they changed their game. Players like Juan Soto and mostly Aaron Judge are playing at their top form. Judge has been phenomenal this season and has clinched, so far, 53 home runs, 132 RBIs, and a .321 batting average. And the roars of M-V-P when he steps on the mound, speak a thousand words, about his impact this year.

It won’t be farfetched to say that Judge, could walk back home with the AL MVP award this year. Although he has tough competition from Bobby Witt Jr. the popularity is heavy on the Yankee’s side for sure. However, amidst all the noise of Judge maybe being the strong MVP contender to him possibly taking the team to win the World Series—not everyone is buying into it. Yankee and MLB analysts Ryan Sampson and Joel Sherman pointed out a major gap in Judge’s performance that might end up being the deal-breaker when it comes to clinching the championship.

Joel Sherman skeptical of Aaron Judge’s post-season performance

Joel Sherman pointed to the performance gap between Judge in a regular season to his post-season to be a major red flag. According to him, Judge’s postseason record isn’t on par, and if the championship is on their mind, that has to change: “Judge has not been a good postseason performer, there’s home runs there, but there is a low batting average, strikeouts in a third of his at-bats, and no signature moments yet, as a Yankee for his time in the playoffs.” Plus, Sherman also mentioned that the team is over-reliant on Judge to carry them forward, and that can come as a gut punch. But he isn’t wrong! 

Aaron Judge was in a 16-game long slump and with him on a back foot, even the team suffered. They lost the games, and their standings took a hit as well. Clearly, he is the key factor when carrying the team forward. Granted Juan Soto, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Nestor Cortes have been great, but Judge has been doing the heavy lifting. But for Sherman, this isn’t enough, he said “But, if you’re going to become ‘The Yankee’ Yankee, got to do some stuff in October, got to win championships.” Some of the biggest names like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are often pulled when talking about Judge, but can they be compared with the current captain?

Captain Clutch, for example, took the team to five championship wins! It still is a maybe someday scenario for Aaron Judge, and as for his post-season records, the numbers are not in his favor. Judge has a .211 batting average with 36 hits, 13 home runs, 25 RBIs, and 29 home runs, scored in 44 games in the postseason of his career. Now, this is much in contrast with what he is doing in the regular season. So, things are not going to be easy, but Judge seems to be prepared for everything. 

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Aaron Judge is ready to face the playoffs with zeal! 

Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees have made it to the playoffs. They won against the Seattle Mariners in a nail-biting game with a 2-1 victory and snatched the ticket for October. With this, the Yankees also became the first American League team to make it to the playoffs this season. And they are possibly in contention to win the divisional title too. Now, they have the real deal in front of them, and the captain is more than ready. 

After the win, Judge had a message, “The job’s not finished.” He expressed that winning the divisional title would be a great start for them. Plus, for Judge making it to the playoffs this season, after the disastrous miss out last year, means a lot. And he said in classic Judge fashion, “We’ve got a special group here, and the boys are excited.” Well, we did see the team members all enjoying drenching themselves in bottles of champagne! 

But despite all the celebrations, Judge seems laser-focused on his goal this year. The team got their 59th postseason berth; they are of course hungrier for more. They did enjoy a taste of a toast when they won the 2022 AL East win, but this time, it seems like the ultimate win is what they are eyeing for. Judge may be feeling the heat extra, but he has a strong veteran-heavy lineup and Juan Soto.

So, given that the team is injury-free, and on their form— right now, the New York Yankee fans are buzzing with anticipation for the shot at their 28th World Series title. Do you think they will make it? Share in the comments.