The New York Yankees constantly worry about Aaron Judge and his fitness. Last season was anything but a wake-up call for the NY side. In 2022, the superstar slugger broke the American League home run record. Later, he won the AL MVP that year, narrowly beating Shohei Ohtani. Moreover, the Bronx Bombers announced that Judge was going to be their new captain, succeeding Derek Jeter. Everything was going right for the California native until things fell apart in the middle of the last season. The 2022 AL MVP hurt his toe really badly. Later, it turned out to be a torn ligament. As a result, Aaron Judge had to miss 35 games on the trot.
Losing their captain for so many games without another superstar like Juan Soto was a big blow for the Bronx Bombers. Eventually, they didn’t make the postseason and finished with an awful 82-80 record. It turned out to be the NY side’s worst season in the last 30 years. Later, in the spring training this year, Judge told the media that his toe injury would need constant maintenance until he plays the game. Then, he missed a few Grapefruit league game due to an abs injury. Clearly, the Yankees captain has not been in sound health. Later, Aaron Judge has been suffering an early season slump since the start of the 2024 regular season. However, the manager said Judge has been looking better since last Sunday.
Why Does Aaron Boone Feel Optimistic About The Yankees Captain Returning To Form?
It was not a good feeling for the Yankees to lose a series against the Baltimore Orioles. After all, the O’s are their biggest threat to win this year’s top spot in AL East. But the Baltimore side enjoyed a 3-1 series win against the NY side. Hence, the Yankees needed to come back stronger in the next series. Moreover, the early season slump of Aaron Judge was raising concerns for the Yankees Faithful. On top of that, in the series against the Detroit Tigers, the New York captain faced his career’s first ejection. Things were not looking good for Judge. But on Sunday, Aaron Judge was on song as he put the Yankees on the board with a home run.
All Rise!
— MLB (@MLB) May 5, 2024
Aaron Judge goes yard in The Bronx. 💪 pic.twitter.com/oXHI6b65E0
Later, the Bronx Bombers won the rain-shortened game 5-2 and eventually swept the series. In the post-game interview, Aaron Boone mentioned that the 2022 AL MVP is sure looking better to him at this point. However, it is still a work in progress as Boone added that Judge is still “Working to get all the way there.” Nevertheless, the California native had a pretty good competition with the Tiger’s ace Tarik Skubal. Aaron Judge told ESPN that he enjoyed the back-and-forth competition with the young ace. He is also looking forward to face him again in future.
Besides Aaron Judge, His Partner In Baseball Crime Was The Main Hero On Sunday
Unlike Aaron Judge, Juan Soto has been enjoying a great start to the 2024 regular season. Albeit, the team has a lot of faith in their captain to return to form soon, the Dominican slugger, meanwhile, has been the standout hitter for the team so far. There is a reason why the Bronx Bombers want to keep him for a long time in pinstripes. On Sunday, he had a great outing against the Detroit side in a rain shortened game.
It was tough to play in extreme weather, but Soto did well. With the ability to clear bases, Juan Soto won the game in the end for the Yankees. Later, Soto mentioned that he just likes big moments. The seventh inning of the game, with bases loaded and a couple of strikes, was just the perfect situation for the Dominican superstar to face the pitch. His base-clearing double came to the Yankee’s rescue at the end.
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