Aaron Judge has been the most dependable slugger of the New York Yankees for a long time now. Since his debut back in 2017, he has been showing his batting prowess and love for hitting home runs. Eventually, in 2022, the California native broke the American League Home Run record. As a result, he won the AL MVP that year, beating Shohei Ohtani narrowly. Moreover, ahead of the 2023 season, the Bronx Bombers announced that the 2022 AL MVP will be their new captain, succeeding Derek Jeter. However, the 2023 season did not go according to plans of the Yankees. Albeit Aaron Judge started the season well, hitting 37 home runs overall.
But the NY side failed to make the postseason in 2023. It was for the first time since 2016 that the Bronx Bombers could not make it to that stage. Moreover, Aaron Judge hurt his toe really bad after a freak accident with a collision at the Los Angeles Dodgers fence. Later, it turned out that the new captain of the NY side suffered a torn ligament. Eventually, he missed 35 games on the trot. Since then, Judge’s health has been a big concern for the team and the fans. Moreover, he had a very slow start to the 2024 regular season. However, the Yankees manager is seeing no reason to lose faith in the 2022 AL MVP.
Why Aaron Boone Feels The Yankees Captain Will Emerge From His Slump Soon?
Many Yankees fans are really worried about Aaron Judge’s early-season struggles at the plate. Anyhow, the Bronx Bomber’s skipper knows how dedicated the team’s captain is and how hard he has been working to get out of that slump. Lately, Aaron Boone faced questions regarding a position switch for Judge in the batting order. Will the Yankees manager move Aaron Judge down the order until he gets back to his groove? In reply, Boone mentioned that someday somebody will pay “Big time.” Moreover, the skipper asked everybody to stay alert, saying, Aaron Judge will get the ball rolling in no time and everybody just needs to “Watch out when he does.”
Aaron Boone is not ready to discuss moving Aaron Judge from the No. 3 spot in the lineup.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 2, 2024
“Somebody’s going to pay, big time,” Boone said. “He’ll get it going, and look out when he does.”
Last week, the New York fans booed the Yankees captain at home. So far in 2024, the 2022 AL MVP has been slashing .200/.331/.400 along with six home runs. Adding to that, Judge has 18 runs batted in. Despite this kind of underwhelming start from the California native as per his standards, Boone doesn’t doubt the captain’s abilities. On Thursday, the Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles. In that game, Aaron Judge went 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a walk. Moreover, in the series against the Orioles, the five-time All-Star went 1 for 13 along with four strikeouts. Now, Judge has 40 strikeouts in 122 at-bats.
The Skipper Has Faith In Aaron Judge As They Look To Redeem Themselves After A Terrible 2023 Season
Last year, the NY side ended with an awful 82-80 record. It was their worst season in franchise history, in the last 30 years. The wound is still quite fresh for the players who were part of that side. For instance, Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton all want to perform a whole lot better and stay healthy to end the World Series drought. The Yankees have not been to the “Big Dance” since winning it all in 2009.
Can they do it in 2024? After all, Judge is not alone as the superstar slugger of the NY side. There is the best hitter in baseball, Juan Soto who had an incredible start to his Pinstripes career and the 2024 season. Hence, Boone is not totally worried about the captain’s early season slump.
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