World Series 2024: The Yankees are four victories away from winning a championship with an underperforming Aaron Judge

Everybody was incredulous. Except, of course, Aaron Judge.

It was Oct. 9, and the Yankees’ postseason journey was threatening to curdle. Two days prior, the Kansas City Royals had stolen ALDS Game 2 in the Bronx to even the series. A Royals win in Game 3 would shove the Yankees to the brink of another early autumn exit, another winter of woe.

So when Judge was incorrectly called out on a check-swing to end the seventh inning of a tie game, a geyser of frustration erupted from the visiting dugout. Yankees arms flew skyward in exasperation. Skipper Aaron Boone rocked his head in disgust and let loose an F-bomb. Outfielder Alex Verdugo went full surrender cobra. Pitching coach Matt Blake, watching the play back on an iPad, remarked, “That’s so f***ing bad.”

It was the type of moment that has spiraled many a ballclub into emotional disorder. Smaller wrongs have brought down larger empires. But as the Yankees teetered, Judge was, as always, a pillar of calm. The aggrieved slugger, his face unchanged, stoically unclipped his shin guard and left the batter’s box, and the at-bat, behind.

Panic can be infectious, but so too can serenity.

An inning later, Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton melted one over the left-field wall to put New York up for good — in the game and the series. Ten days later, the Yankees outlasted the Cleveland Guardians in five games of the ALCS to reach the World Series for the first time since 2009.

“[That strikeout] shows his uncanny ability to move to the next pitch or the next moment. He does that better than anybody in the game,” Yankees hitting coach James Rowson told Yahoo Sports. “What happens on the other side of that is I think he makes other guys reflect, and he calms other guys down, which has an effect on the club. … You might lose a little focus in those moments, but his ability to calm it kind of calms the group, and now you’re able to get back on track faster.”

Stanton did not deliver that tide-changing homer in Game 3 simply because Judge didn’t pout after his strikeout. Baseball, like life, is never that tidy. But that sequence in Kansas City is a perfect demonstration of how the Yankees captain’s infinite steadiness in the face of immense chaos has allowed this edition of the sport’s most scrutinized franchise to stay focused on the long game.

It is, alongside the generational swing, Judge’s second superpower.

“Early in the year, when, four weeks in, he was hitting a buck-fifty, you couldn’t tell,” Yankees infielder Jon Berti said. “The same guy every day, positive, great leader. Fast-forward a month later, when he’s hitting .400 and, you know, on his way to have the year he had, he was the same guy. To see one of the best players in the world, our leader, do that just shows what type of person is.”

No player has hit more home runs than Judge through his first 1,000 MLB games. His full list of accomplishments is deafening: 315 big flies, six All-Star Games and, after this postseason ends, a second AL MVP award. It will be well-deserved, considering that Judge just delivered the single greatest offensive season since Barry Bonds, slashing .322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBI. He is, alongside World Series foe Shohei Ohtani, the face of the sport.

But for this Yankees team, Judge’s impact reaches far outside the white lines. He is the voice of reason, a towering beacon of consistency, the most beloved figure in the clubhouse and someone who believes unflinchingly in the inevitability of success.

“He leads by example, and we look up to him for what he’s able to do,” Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe said of Judge during a recent media conference. “You see how hard he works and how he treats everyone, it just takes it to another level of something to aspire to.”

Asked recently if he could remember an example of Judge showing obvious frustration on the diamond, Yankees utility man Oswaldo Cabrera furrowed his brow and paused. “I’ve never seen it,” he said. “He never slams his bat or helmet.”

“He’s a pro, man. That’s why he’s the cap, dude,” outfielder Alex Verdugo said. “He goes about his business the right way.”

Asked where his steadiness comes from, Judge told Yahoo Sports during a recent conversation that it’s both learned and innate.

“I’ve always tried to be regimented, but you also grow into it a little bit,” he said. “When I got to the big leagues, I saw a guy like Mark Teixeira. Man, I could look up at the clock, and I knew exactly where he’d be. At 5:02, he was gonna be in the weight room getting ready. At 5:15, he was eating. At 5:30, he was getting stretched. I just saw that consistency. If he’s having a great career, I would love to have a career like this.”

Judge lives a blessed life but an unrelenting one. Somebody always wants something from him: time, advice, an autograph, a selfie. He counteracts the mayhem with simplicity, using a forcefield of cliché to block out the noise. It’s a Jeter-ian approach, one that can make Judge appear boring; rarely does a quote of his classify as interesting. But it’s a purposeful tact, one that makes the Yankees captain an extremely respected figure within his own small circle.

Which, frankly, is what he cares about most. That and winning a title.

And with the World Series set to begin Friday, the Yankees are four victories away from accomplishing something once thought to be impossible: capturing a championship with an underperforming Judge. All season long, the big man carried the grand franchise on his broad shoulders, shepherding his team through lulls and valleys with massive swing after massive swing. But in October, Judge has scuffled while teammates such as Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres and ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton have led the charge.

In nine postseason games, the Yankees center fielder is 5-for-31 with just two home runs and a .704 OPS. That’s far from horrendous but also far from the standard. Judge is striking out at a higher clip, a product of more chases outside the zone. As with any postseason statline, it’s all small sample size, liable to turn around at a moment’s notice. A player this good is always one swing away from greatness.

That the Yankees have reached the World Series with a mediocre Judge is a testament to the depth of the roster. But it also shows how Judge’s influence stretches far beyond his in-box production. Obviously, a handful of homers from the guy who cracked 58 of them this year would be helpful in defeating the Dodgers. But Judge couldn’t care less about his final batting line if he ends the series covered in champagne and confetti. He could go 0-for-the World Series and would still be the first player to lift the trophy.

With the generational slugger entering the first Fall Classic of his career, the ultimate goal has never been so close — and the void on his ring finger has never been so glaring. He knew this when he re-signed with the Yankees in December 2022, accepting the captainship alongside his landmark contract. He wanted this burden; he chose the pressure cooker. He knows that the impact of any player, particularly any Yankee, is defined by what’s achieved once the leaves change color. Without championship No. 28, Judge’s legacy will be forever incomplete.

Until that happens, don’t expect him to change a thing.