Aaron Judge recently assessed the lingering effects of the right big toe injury he suffered last year. “I don’t think it’ll ever get back to normal,” the struggling New York Yankees slugger said, “but as a player you have to live with it.”
Judge crashed into a right field gate at Dodger Stadium last June 3 while making a catch and tore a ligament. And given his numbers since that crash, you have to wonder if and when he will return to his normal level as a player.
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The Yankees outfielder hit .291 with 19 home runs and 40 RBIs before getting injured and missing 42 games. In the 86 games since his return, dating back to last season, those numbers have dropped to .228 with 21 home runs and 46 RBIs thanks to Wednesday’s come-from-behind victory, 6-4, over the Blue Jays in Toronto.
At the end of that game, Judge got a reprieve of sorts with a two-run single in the ninth inning that won the game and ended an 0-for-12 – with seven strikeouts – drought in the three-game series that preceded it. last at bat.
But when Judge looks at the scoreboard these days, he sees a .183 batting average with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 19 games this season. His subpar performance was somewhat overshadowed by New York’s 13-6 record and newcomer Juan Soto’s hot start.
“You can get caught up as a player looking at the scoreboard and seeing where your average is,” Judge said with his soft and steady demeanor. “You see guys up there hitting .600 and you can get discouraged. It’s the start of the season. You get 600 at bats. You are going through some difficult processes. But those are minuscule compared to the entire season. It’s about staying the course and just getting through it.
Of course, this isn’t what the Yankees wanted or expected when they signed Judge, then a free agent, to a nine-year, $360 million contract in 2022 — the largest in team history — and made him a team captain, the first since Derek Jeter.
The oft-injured righty was coming off a 2022 season in which he broke Roger Maris’ team and American League record with 62 home runs. That year he also led the league with 133 runs scored, 131 RBIs, a .425 on-base percentage, a .686 slugging percentage, a 1.111 OPS, a 210 OPS+ and 391 total bases. His .311 batting average put him just shy of the Triple Crown.
Judge was named American League MVP and the Yanks thought the sky was the limit, outbidding the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres on the free agent market for his services.
The biggest downside of 2022 for Judge was the Yankees being defeated by the Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series. For all his regular-season heroics, Judge was a dud in October, hitting .139 (5-for-36) with two home runs and three RBIs in nine postseason games, none in any category against the Astros.
In 2023 the injury came and the Yankees finished 82-80 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
With the captaincy and big money came much more responsibility for Judge, and he maintained a close relationship with Yanks principal owner Hal Steinbrenner. The question for both men was simple: Will Judge be Don Mattingly, who never won a World Series during his time with the Yankees, or Jeter, who won five?
Judge and Steinbrenner met often during the offseason. On Judge’s recommendation, Steinbrenner retained Aaron Boone as manager. It was Steinbrenner’s decision to retain Brian Cashman as general manager. It took until November for these decisions to be implemented. Cashman then made the deal with the Padres to acquire Soto, who helped reshuffle the team.
The judge says he likes what he sees so far this season.
“I’m excited about the results we’re getting,” he said. “The most important thing is that you win with people. If you get the right people in the room, if you get the right people in their positions, it will ultimately lead to better results. Right now we are getting the results.”
Now he would like to start playing as he knows and hopes he should. Against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 3 at Chase Field in Phoenix, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo elected to throw to Judge in the 11th inning rather than intentionally walking him with first base open. Judge doubled up to win the game. Earlier, he had hit his first homer of the season and collected four RBIs that day.
Lovullo later doubted himself for pitching to Judge.
“I’m hitting .100 right now, so I think it was the right thing to pitch for me,” Judge said at the time. “I didn’t swing the way we wanted to.”
He still isn’t. He had two home runs and seven more RBIs in the following weeks.
Boone said the slump won’t last forever.
“He’s going to come out because he’s great,” Boone said. “It’s just a matter of time.”
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