Aaron Judge was still in full uniform as he held his end-of-season address.
The Yankees’ captain was about an hour removed from the most productive postseason of his 10-year career, but it wasn’t enough to avoid being eliminated by the Toronto Blue Jays in four games in the ALDS.
“I want to get back out there right now,” Judge, 33, said from the center of the Yankees’ clubhouse. “I wish spring training was in a couple weeks and we were going to get things rolling.”
Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss in Game 4 brought a sudden end to another all-time season by Judge, who won his first batting title with a .331 average; hit 53 home runs with 114 RBI; and led the majors in on-base percentage (.457), slugging percentage (.688) and OPS (1.144).
He carried that jaw-dropping production into the postseason, finishing 13-for-26 (.500) with seven RBI and a 1.273 OPS in seven playoff games.
Judge’s dramatic three-run home run in the Yankees’ season-prolonging win in ALDS Game 3 delivered a signature playoff moment. His overall numbers quieted critics who pointed to Judge’s .205 postseason average coming into this year’s playoffs.
But that personal success was secondary to Judge as the Yankees’ championship drought extended to 16 years.
“This is a team game, so we didn’t win as a team,” Judge said. “You lose as a team, you win as a team. There’s definitely more I can do, and I’m going to figure it out and get back to work.”
Judge recorded at least two hits in six of the Yankees’ seven playoff games. He drove in six of the Yankees’ 19 runs in the ALDS and scored five of the others. And he did it with a flexor strain in his right elbow — an injury Judge acknowledged he would definitely “do some work on” this offseason before saying he didn’t know whether surgery would be necessary.
With this October’s Herculean effort, Judge boosted his career postseason average by 31 points to .236 in 65 games.
But Judge subscribes to a championship-or-bust mentality, a stance he repeated Wednesday night by saying, “When you don’t win, it’s not a good year.”
“That’s sports,” said manager Aaron Boone when asked about his message to Judge after another epic season ended in heartbreak. “It doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, and he and I wholeheartedly believe that it will. Again, you keep working your tail off to get back to this position and punch through.”
Judge is already on the short list of the most prolific performers in the Yankees’ storied history, but his pursuit of his first championship remains under the spotlight given his stature and that of the team he plays for.
Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig — the only Yankees with more home runs than Judge’s 368 — all won multiple championships, as did fellow franchise greats Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter.
Of course, in today’s era of player mobility and expanded playoffs, winning a championship is harder than ever.
“I don’t take anything for granted in this game,” Boone said. “Being in it my whole life, I know how hard it is to win in the end. I have too much respect for the sport and the competition of it.”
The Yankees ran into a buzzsaw in the Blue Jays, who pounded out 34 runs over the four-game ALDS. Three of the Yankees’ starters lasted three innings or fewer.
Yet Judge provided reason to believe.
With the Yankees on the brink of elimination and trailing by three runs in Game 3, Judge somehow connected with a 99.7-mph inside fastball from Louis Varland that was 1.2 feet from the center of home plate.
Judge watched from home plate as the ball soared down the left-field line, then clanked off of the foul pole for a three-run homer that tied the game. Judge flipped his bat and gestured to the dugout as a frenzied crowd of 47,399 had Yankee Stadium shaking. The Yankees went on to win, 9-6.
“He’s the best that I’ve ever been around,” first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. “He’s also the greatest teammate I’ve been around, the best leader. Cares about this organization and the fans and the people of New York. Cares about the people in this locker room. Just wants to win. So selfless. I know it’s all cliché, but it’s the truth, and you don’t really know that on the outside looking in.”
In a few weeks, Judge could win the third American League MVP Award of his career, though he faces stiff competition from Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, whose 60 home runs set single-season records for a primary catcher and a switch-hitter.
Judge became the fourth player in MLB history with four 50-homer seasons, joining Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
But perhaps unjustly, the Yankees’ season ended with Judge at first base, watching as the Blue Jays spilled onto the field in celebration.
“You don’t like seeing somebody celebrate on your field,” Judge said. “It’s just, I guess, good fuel going into the offseason.”