The New York Yankees had, by all accounts, a successful season. The No. 1 seed in the American League and a spot in the World Series is nothing to scoff at. And yet, when you’re that close to the ultimate glory, demise is all the more painful. The Yankees were completely outclassed on the World Series stage.
Why? Well, there are several reasons, but one of the primary culprits is Aaron Judge. Named American League MVP for the second time in his career this week, Judge is unquestionably one of the greatest hitters of his generation. The 32-year-old put together the best campaign of a historic career in 2024, smashing 58 home runs to go along with 144 RBI. His slash line — .322/.458/.701 — almost doesn’t look real. Judge is an unmatched regular season weapon, but unfortunately, the Yankees’ aspirations lie behind the initial 162-game slate.
Judge is still searching for that elusive World Series ring. His numbers this October — .184/.344/.408 with three home runs, nine RBI and 20 strikeouts in 49 at-bats — were incredibly dire. He was still able to draw walks at a healthy clip, but Judge’s bat went frigid the entire month. It was an utterly baffling development. To watch an all-time hitter just forget his swing is a strange sensation, and this wasn’t the first time Judge has struggled on the postseason stage.
Odds are Judge will get more bites at the apple, but the Yankees risk taking a step back this winter if Juan Soto leaves. Ideally, Judge would play a central role in convincing Soto to re-sign, but… well, here’s what the reigning AL MVP said about the situation on Friday.
Aaron Judge said he hasn't talked to Juan Soto since the season ended. He wants to give him space as he makes a life-changing decision.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) November 22, 2024
Aaron Judge isn’t trying to recruit Juan Soto back to the Yankees
This is an admirable gesture to a friend, but it also… doesn’t make sense? What are we talking about here? Soto is not getting much space these days. He’s fielding phone calls from front offices the league over and, more than that, you can bet that other stars — Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — will be involved in recruiting Soto when these meetings get more serious.
There is nothing to verify Judge’s comments — this could all be a cloud of smoke in our face — but after he skipped out on the media directly after his MVP announcement, folks began to suspect that he was dodging the inevitable Soto questions. Judge should absolutely be in touch with Soto, pitching him on their chemistry and the unique taste of success in a Yankees uniform.
Nothing in baseball quite matches the historic import of winning as a Yankee. Is that fair to all us non-Yankees fans? Not really, but that franchise holds a special place in the baseball canon. If Judge and Soto spend the next decade ripping dingers in Yankee Stadium, odds are that will be a defining memory from that decade in baseball. If Soto goes to Toronto and competes on a scrappy Blue Jays team, are we talking about it in 50 years? Eh, probably not.
It feels extremely odd that New York lost the World Series and Judge (or Soto) just cut off communication completely. These are presumably teammates and friends who enjoyed each other’s company during the season. I’m not saying Judge has to spam Soto’s texts each morning with a Yankees emoji, but checking in and at least chatting about free agency does not sound like an imposition. To me, that seems like basic protocol in these circumstances.
Judge wants to be remembered as one of the all-time greats in New York. Convincing Soto to stick around sure would help him build out his resume.
