In the minds of Yankees fans, Aaron Judge is a hero, not a villain, as I portrayed him in an earlier piece today. I’ll go with that (now)…
Aaron Judge was the subject of an article I wrote earlier today, in which I questioned his “shirt tugging” troll of Jose Altuve as he rounded third base in a Yankees win on Saturday.
But as comments rolled in, and they’re still coming, Yankees fans have a completely different take; on second thought, I must accede to their thinking.
The thing about doing what I do is that once I put myself “out there,” as often as not, what I believed to be an obvious truth turns out to be folly for readers.
Here’s what I learned today from readers, and you can reference their comments in the article above that show it:
- While we (and I do) chastise the Yankees as a team with no spirit, no “oomph,” as they say, when Aaron Judge shows some spark, he needs to be credited for doing so.
- Aaron Judge had nothing to do with losing yesterday’s game, and the brunt for that falls on Aaron Boone‘s misuse of his bullpen.
- Aaron Judge is and will always be the Face Of The Yankees and deserving of being named Team Captain, a vacant role since the departure of Derek Jerek.
- And finally, lost in the mix is the fact the Yankees did win the series, recording two victories by shut-outs.
Aaron Judge Refuses To Sweep It Under The Rug
My very first sentence earlier today was this: “When it comes to baseball, Aaron Judge never forgives or forgets.”
Aaron Judge has lived and played through a good portion of the Yankee’s drought since their last World Title, and he’s tired of losing.
Aside from Brett Gardner, who has sustained even more punishment, newcomers to the team like Gio Urshela, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, and even Gerrit Cole have yet to experience the pain and disappointment of seasonal failures in the playoffs.
Aaron Judge has been there, and he doesn’t forget, especially when a team like the Astros received a mere slap by MLB on the hand for blatantly cheating to win the “piece of metal” Rob Manfred so casually dismissed.
And for that, I stand corrected and say thank you to Yankee’s fans who drove the point home.
For The Yankees, The Challenge Is Still Tomorrow
While Aaron Judge (probably) wishes the Houston Astros are on the Yankees schedule when play resumes after the All-Star Game break, they are not.
So the one point I will stick to is this.
Unless Judge and the Yankees want to wait until next year to gain a sense of revenge over Jose Altuve and the Astros when the 2022 schedule is posted, their only outlet is to turn the season on full-blast in the second half, to make this year’s playoffs.
The wound from yesterday will fester, but it will not heal until the two teams meet again.
As we know, the road for the Yankees to get there is long and arduous, with Toronto, Seattle, and Oakland ahead of them in the AL Wild Card Standings.
But if, as readers insisted on, the spark and spirit displayed by Aaron Judge can channel and filter through the team – then why not?
Round Two – Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Dave Waxman My opinion still stands. Put up or shut up. Judge has been great this season so far, but he has a history of being on the DL regularly. And he has to DO IT IN THE PLAYOFFS. Revenge on Altuve and the Astros is not a sophomoric gesture… Judge wants revenge? Hit a walk-off against the Astros in the playoffs. Hell, play in a World Series game! And lol no, Captain???
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
