Yankees staring at a harsh Aaron Judge reality

In his eighth trip to the postseason, Aaron Judge had his best one yet. 

And still, the potential third-time MVP did not end up with what he cares about the most, and what every great Yankee is ultimately judged by: a World Series championship. 

Because of that, in the aftermath of the ALDS defeat, one harsh reality in particular lingers around it all: the Yankees are running out of chances to take advantage of Judge’s prime. 

There is no telling just how long that will last for Judge, who turns 34 in April.

He put together one of the best seasons ever in 2022, when he broke the American League record with 62 home runs.

In 2024, he turned in an even better all-around season on the way to his second AL MVP. 

This year rivaled 2024, with Judge even adding his first batting title as he continues to get better deeper into his career.

But at some point, even for the best of them, that all-world production begins to plateau at the least, if not something worse. 

So while the franchise’s title drought has reached 16 years, one of the most pressing questions as they enter another critical offseason is whether they will ever be able to capitalize during Judge’s path to the Hall of Fame. 

“He’s the best that I’ve ever been around,” veteran Paul Goldschmidt said at the end of his 15th year in the big leagues. “He’s also just the greatest teammate I’ve been around, the best leader, cares about this organization and the fans and the people of New York, cares about the people in this locker room. 

“He just wants to win. So selfless. I know it’s all cliché, but it’s the truth. You don’t really know that on the outside looking in. Just thankful for the opportunity to play with him. But it’s unbelievable what he does. You’re almost shocked on a daily basis. He’s already, and is going to go down as, one of the best players that’s probably ever played this game.” 

While there have been past Octobers when Judge’s postseason play did not match that of his regular season, contributing to the Yankees coming up short, this was not exactly one of them. 

Across seven playoff games, Judge went 13-for-26 with four walks, seven RBIs and a 1.273 OPS.

He delivered a signature moment in Game 3 of the ALDS, crushing a towering, game-tying, three-run shot off the left-field foul pole to key the Yankees’ comeback win.

The captain finished the postseason 5-for-7 with seven RBIs with runners in scoring position. 

But it was still not enough. 

“You play to win, and when you don’t win, it’s not a good year,” Judge said. “Just got to put in more work, review the season, see what I can keep doing to try to help this team, put them in the best position to win every single night.” 

And while Judge had a strong October, he may still be left ruing his at-bat in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the ALDS, when he chased ball four to strike out with the bases loaded at a time when the Yankees trailed 2-0.

The snapshot in time, a missed opportunity to swing the game and perhaps the series, loomed over the rest of the ALDS, at least until Judge helped win Game 3. 

Of course, Judge’s teammates could have picked him up there and done more than scratch across just one run.

But for the most part, his supporting cast went missing in the postseason.

Giancarlo Stanton, who typically owns the month, was 5-for-26. Cody Bellinger was 6-for-28.

Trent Grisham was 4-for-29. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was 4-for-22. 

So Judge’s wait for a ring continues. 

“We’ll go to work,” Judge said. “The boys in here are hungry. Getting a lot of experience here in the postseason. We’re going to finish it out.”