How bad does Aaron Judge want to win?
That’s the question.
If he really cared about World Series rings, Judge, who was unanimously named the 2024 AL MVP on Thursday, would sell his fancy new trophy on eBay and give the proceeds to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman so the club could sign another bullpen. 2025. That’s what a real captain would do. Derek Jeter, the perfect example of Yankees leadership, had the perspective and wherewithal to never play well enough to earn such a selfish award.
Look, I’m not saying Judge should play worse during next year’s regular season; that is absurd. But if he melted down the AL MVP trophy and had it remade into a statue of the 2024 Dodgers celebrating their World Championship, and then put that statue on his nightstand so he could wake up properly motivated every morning, it wouldn’t be the best. inappropriate thing.
It is tradition for the MVP winners to receive their awards at the BBWAA’s annual dinner in New York in January. And while I’m sure fans would love to see Judge out there, he should honestly be spending that time in the gym or in the batting cage GRINDING for the 2025 season. Tuxedo night with boring writers like me does not lead to the end goal of a Yankees parade. As they say, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.
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Shohei Ohtani, the unanimous 2024 NL MVP, is a different story, his own overlooked postseason struggles aside. Sure, the Dodger dynamo’s October OPS was only 15 points higher than Judge’s, but Ohtani is a winner who won. This is clearly not the case with the judge. And don’t forget: The last time Judge won this award, in 2022, the Yankees were a train wreck the following season and missed the playoffs. Does the Yankees skipper really want to tempt fate again? It would be best to leave the award to Bobby Witt Jr., who finished second in AL MVP voting.
People talk a lot about Judge’s consistency and consistency during a marathon 162-game season. That’s pretty cool I guess, but I’d rather have a completely erratic teammate who wakes up with a hangover on October 1st and kicks 15 bombs in the playoffs. Not someone like Judge, who finished last season with a … .752 OPS, which … isn’t that bad, actually?
Huh. How about that?
You know what? Maybe it’s best to keep multiple thoughts in your head at the same time. Yes, Judge underwhelmed by his lofty standards in a 14-game postseason stretch, but maybe, just maybe, that doesn’t detract from what has always been a great offensive performance in the regular season.
Judge’s 2024 was the best season by a hitter by OPS+ since Barry Bonds posted a 263 OPS+ in 2004. The Titanic Yankees outfielder finished the season with comical stats: 58 home runs, a .322 batting average, a 1.159 OPS and an adjusted OPS 123% better than league average. Only three players in MLB history posted an OPS+ higher than Judge’s 223 this year: Bonds, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.
Not too shabby.
And certainly, as noted above, Judge’s struggles on the big stage leave an unfortunate haze over our collective memory of his season. It’s a fact he knows and has owned: When the games mattered most, Judge wasn’t at his best. Whether it’s because he can’t handle the spotlight or because baseball is hard and random, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Just remember that the Yankees’ World Series Game 5 capitulation was so complete and utter that it’s impossible to pin down just one soul.
Maybe I’m a “Steph Curry arguing against nobody” meme, but whatever. Judge’s excellent 162 simply cannot erase his fall stumble. At the same time, his substandard October should not completely overshadow six months of complete dominance. Both are true, both are important, and both tell the story of Aaron Judge’s 2024, a season that will be remembered for a long, long time.
Hopefully for all the right reasons.