Aaron Judge is the biggest hope for the New York Yankees to win the World Series in 2024. He has been that for a while now. But the problem was that last year, he was the only superstar slugger of the NY side. In fact, that has been the case for the last few seasons. But last year was a wake-up call for the front office that they need to bring reinforcements for their offense and the outfield. After all, it was getting too much pressure and workload on the 2022 AL MVP. Subsequently, the new Yankees captain sustained a severe toe injury after a freak accident at the Los Angeles Dodgers fence.
It was only later revealed that Aaron Judge had a torn ligament in his toe. That injury kept him out for two months of game time, and it was a fatal blow for the Yankees. Without their captain and only superstar hitter, the Bronx Bombers were really weak to make the postseason. But 2024 seems to be a bit different for the 27-time champions. After all, there is the “Soto Effect.” Aaron Judge seemed to struggle in the first few games of 2024. But the team did exceedingly well to remain unbeaten.
Yankees Seem Pretty Strong Even When Aaron Judge Is Not At His Best
Clearly, there is a huge difference between the 2023 Yankees and the 2024 team. Last season, nobody could imagine the NY side going very far without the 2022 AL MVP at his finest. Moreover, they did not even qualify for the playoffs. But in 2024, the biggest difference has been the addition of Juan Soto. Clearly, the Dominican superstar has been working hard on his defensive skills ahead of his Yankees debut. That’s the reason why Soto was able to surprise the fans and his teammates with his clutch moments defensively. In fact, if it had not been for Soto’s bullet throw to Jose Trevino when the game was hanging in the balance, the Yankees could have lost the game against the Houston Astros on Opening Day.
"I don’t know if he’s just gonna magically snap back into being the dominant player he was with the toe, the oblique, the abdominal mid-spring beat-up"
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) March 28, 2024
Keith has questions about Aaron Judge being able to get back to MVP form:https://t.co/SNGuAtn0QS
Moreover, Juan Soto was a superstar performer for the New York side in the first week of the season. Besides Soto, performances of Oswaldo Cabrera, Alex Verdugo, Anthony Volpe, Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman, and others have caught the attention. It seems the Yankees are no longer heavily dependent on Aaron Judge. Albeit, Judge’s bat has gone cold lately, the rest of the teammates have shown a lot of maturity. Moreover, it seems like the early season jitters of the 2022 AL MVP are not a cause for big concern anymore for the Yankees.
Bronx Bombers Giving Their Captain Time To Regain Form
Aaron Judge started the season with more strikeouts and pop-ups at bats. This can be frustrating and can create panic among Yankees Nation. Generally, such a dip in Aaron “All Rise” Judge’s performance causes a lot of concern, but not this time.
There is no question about the Yankees captain’s MVP-caliber skills. On top of that, the 2024 NY side seems capable of maintaining a winning streak while Aaron Judge takes his time to regain his form without any such pressure. Clearly, the offseason moves are paying dividends for the NY front office.
Stay tuned to Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite MLB team.
