Judge wants to cap his great season with his first championship

Aaron Judge came closest to the World Series in 2017, his rookie season, when the Yankees lost seven games of the American League Championship Series to the Astros, losing Games 6 and 7 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Unlike last year – when they finished 82-80 – the Yankees have made the playoffs every year since then, but have fallen short of the World Series every year.

Sometimes excruciating, but more often not quite so close.

There was a four-game ALDS loss to the Red Sox in 2018, a six-game ALCS loss to the Astros in 2019, a five-game ALDS loss to the Rays in 2020 and the wild card game loss to the Red Sox in 2018, 2021 and a four-game ALCS win by the Astros in 2022.

They all lived in the Yankees captain's head every winter.

“It drives me crazy every night in the offseason when we don't make it, the last few seasons came up short and especially last season didn't even make it into the dance,” Judge said near the end of the regular season. “That's why I'm always trying to tinker with something, to constantly improve, because I feel like I take full responsibility if the team I'm on doesn't seal the deal. Then I feel like it’s my fault it didn’t happen.”

The road to that elusive World Series appearance has never looked better for Judge.

The Yankees, who opened a best-of-five division series against the Royals at the Stadium on Saturday night, entered this postseason as favorites to win the American League pennant, and that status was elevated even further when the Astros and Orioles were eliminated in the wild card round.

In his speech Friday, Judge reiterated what drives him: “It eats at me every time we don't get the job done,” he said of the fact that he doesn't have a title — and his responsibility for it.

“If we don’t win it all,” he said, “I feel like it’s my fault.”

Of course, a championship is not won or lost by one player. But Judge, who was nearly named American League MVP in 2017, won it in 2022 and is on the verge of winning it this season, hasn't had the same success in October baseball in general.

Entering Saturday night, Judge was hitting .211 with 13 homers, 25 RBIs and an OPS of .772 in 44 postseason games. He batted with runners on second and third without being out in the first inning Saturday night and struck out Michael Wacha when the Yankees failed to score. The judge took on Wacha in the 1:18 fight.

“It’s just about going out there and trying to do your job. The boys are on the base, try to herd them in. If not, move them over. “Try to do the things we’ve done all year,” Judge said, perhaps feeling even more “pressure” to have a true October moment in these playoffs. “It's really not about putting pressure on anyone. It’s the same game we’ve played all year.”

When healthy, Judge has played a game unknown to most, especially this season. He hit .322 and led the majors in home runs (58), RBIs (144), on-base percentage (.458), slugging (.701), OPS (1.159), walks (133) and times on base (322 ). .

But Judge never smugly acknowledges individual achievements of any kind. It's about winning a championship.

“From day one, that was all he wanted,” said Juan Soto, who batted in front of Judge all season and later called his fellow outfielder “the greatest hitter of all time.”

The numbers Judge put up in his career, starting with a then-rookie record 52 home runs in 2017, put him on a par with Yankees greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra and Roger Maris. As Judge primarily knows, these players have won all the titles.

“I think there's no doubt he's one of the greatest players in the franchise,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But he’s playing for it (the championship). That's why he does this, not to accumulate personal accolades. He embodies that, he lives that and we are all working on that. Obviously, the win would certainly enhance his legacy even further.”

And Judge isn't the only veteran with an impressive career resume missing a World Series crown.

“He (Judge) and we understand the weight of what we have to do, the importance of this time, the importance of bringing a championship to town,” said one of them, Giancarlo Stanton, the active .429 home run leader. “As the years go by, you no longer take this time for granted. There is no guarantee for these moments and times. And since this has not been achieved over the years, this window will not remain open forever.”