Yankees Aaron Judge, Juan Soto keep authoring different playoff narratives
Aaron Judge is the only man wearing the pinstripe suit with a chance to break into the Pantheon of Yankees that features Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and Yogi Berra.All due re2pect, Derek Jeter couldn’t quite crash the exclusive party and he was only one of the linchpins of five World Series championships throughout his 19-plus seasons in the Bronx.It is not important how many career hits No.2 collected, though the final tally stood at 3,465, the most in franchise history and the sixth most in major league history.It wouldn’t have meant much of anything around these parts if not for the bling.The first sentence of Judge’s hagiography will reference his American League home run record of 62 in 2022 and his 58-homer season of 2024, plus untold acts of regular season dominance that lay in waiting for this unique 32-year-old who seems to get better by the season.But there are no moments that equate to Jeter’s leadoff home run at Shea Stadium in Game 4 of the 2000 Subway Series.
There are no moments that equate to Jeter’s Mr.November 10th-inning game-winning home run off Byung Hyun Kim in Game 4 of the 2001 Series against Arizona.If there are postseason moments for Judge, they are few and far between.
A drop in the bucket.He is the greatest natural offensive force in the game probably since Mantle’s heyday six-plus decades ago.
No.99’s bWAR of 11.7 this season has been exceeded by only Ruth five times and the tainted Barry Bonds once.But the ring display remains barren and one of the reasons, at least in 2022 when the Yankees were swept by the Astros in the ALCS, was Judge going 1-for-22 against Houston with four strikeouts.Overall, Judge is slashing .206/.307/.451 with a .758 OPS and 13 home runs and 25 RBI in 45 games over seven postseason series.
In 18 games this decade, the stats resemble an optical illusion, the preeminent hitter in the game slashing .135/.207/.338 with a .545 OPS, five homers and eight RBI while striking out ...