I'm a Dyed-In-The-Wool Red Sox Fan, but Tonight I'm Rooting For the Yankees and Aaron Judge to Turn It Around...
Al Bello. Getty Images.I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Red Sox fan, and I have been since 1960, so I typically hate the Yankees. But the Red Sox have sucked the last three years, and I blame John Henry, who hasn't shown that he cares about winning. Fenway Park will always be an attraction, so he'll make his money, win or lose. He doesn't spend money on elite players; instead, he'll shop for bargain basement types, which hasn't cut it.
On the other hand, the Yankees are all about spending money to win, and for that, they're to be commended. The best players want to be on teams with the best players, and the Yankees have established that kind of culture in NY. Most players who put on the pinstripes feel the history and perform to expectations, some above and beyond.
The M&M Boys…
Bettmann. Getty Images.As a kid, I was a big fan of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, the M&M Boys. I embraced the whole "Bronx Bombers" thing. Later, I was a fan of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, two Hall of Famers who played the game right. But my affection for those players doesn't come close to how much I like Aaron Judge. He hits 'em like McGwire but without the steroids, and he plays the outfield like a gold glover. Watching him interact with other Yankee players, he appears to be a great teammate, and he's active in the community as well.
I totally expected this stacked Yankee lineup to hit the snot out of the ball and win it all this year. This is their year! If they can't win it this year, they never will. And by falling behind three games to none to the Dodgers, the National League's big spenders, they're turning their fan base on certain slumping players who haven't performed well under the bright lights of the World Series. And that describes no one more than Aaron Judge.
Leading the American League with 58 regular season HRs, 144 RBI, .458 OBP, .701 SLG, 1.159 OPS, and 133 BBs, it's easy to concede that he was the best player in MLB in 2024. And he batted .322.
So, what has happened to him in the playoffs? In the ALDS against the Royals, he posted a .154 BA with zero RBI, zero HRs, one extra-base hit, and a .321 SLG with 5 Ks.
It improved a bit in the ALCS against the Guardians. He managed 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, and a .500 SLG, but his BA was just .167, and his OBP was .261. He struck out 8 times in 18 ABs.
In the three losses in the World Series, Judge has just one hit in 12 ABs. He's batting .083 with a .154 OBP, a .083 SLG, and a .237 OPS without a home run and 7 Ks.
It doesn't appear that he has any physical problems, so what's happening to him is mental. He's in a slump, and there seems to be no way out of it other than the offseason.
When I was a Physical Education Major at Northeastern from '78 to '79, I wrote a paper in a "Psychology of Sport" class about every team needing a Psychologist on staff. Players need support when they hit rough spots or feel the pressure of being a high-paid professional athlete. The professor gave me a C-, and when I disputed the grade, he told me my idea was "far-fetched."
Only a couple of years later, in the '80s, you started hearing about team psychologists.
Judge's slump is mental, not physical, and I'm shocked that no one has been able to help the best player in MLB snap out of it in the postseason.
Game 4 is tonight, and I don't want to see the baseball season end with a Dodgers sweep of the Yankees. We northerners have a lot in common. We brave the frigid temperatures in the winter. The snow, sleet, and freezing rain. We don't run around in shorts and tee shirts year-round like they do in LA. We buy winter coats, boots, and gloves. We're a tougher breed. That's why I want to see Aaron Judge have a breakout game tonight. Two monster home runs and 5 RBI, enough to shake up LA like a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Great teams come back from 3-0 deficits…
This Red Sox fan is hoping you can do it, Aaron…
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?