Will New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone be able to get Aaron Judge a ring?
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is a generational player and one of the most talented bats in the history of Major League Baseball. But he is yet to achieve one big thing: a championship.
Judge has all of the other accolades. He hit 62 home runs in 2022. He has won three AL MVP awards (and Yankees fans will swear he should have also beaten out Jose Altuve back in 2017). He even won a batting title last season.
But he is missing that elusive World Series ring, and while Judge's playoff failures (which he somewhat recompensed for this past October) loom large, let's be honest: it's hard to blame Judge for New York's inability to in a World Series the last 16 years.
That responsibility falls on Yankees brass, which has been good, but not good enough for the last decade-and-a-half.
And with Aaron Boone now preparing to enter his ninth season as New York manager, the pressure is on, especially with Judge turning 34 years old in April.
In fact, Ian O'Connor of The Athletic thinks that Boone can — or at least should — be on the hot seat heading into 2026.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone with Aaron Judge. Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images."Judge just needs to win one before it’s too late. If Boone can’t help him get there after nine attempts, then someone else should get a chance to try," O'Connor wrote.
O'Connor also noted the stark difference between Boone and Yankees legend Joe Torre when it coms to winning in the postseason.
"Boone’s postseason winning percentage (.481) is 103 points lower than his regular-season winning percentage," O'Connor added. "Joe Torre, four-time champ, had a postseason winning percentage with the Yankees (.618) that was 13 points higher than his regular-season winning percentage in those 12 years."
At some point, Judge — who does have an injury history — is going to start declining. We don't know when that will happen, but he is well into his 30s now. He won't last forever, so the clock is ticking.
No one will ever doubt Judge's immense talent, but if he truly wants to be cemented among the pantheon of Bronx greats, from Babe Ruth to Mickey Mantle to Derek Jeter and many others in between, he needs a World Series ring.
He doesn't have that yet, and while there is plenty of blame to go around for Judge's lack of championship hardware, the axe may ultimately fall on Boone if a change doesn't occur promptly.
Yankees Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Yankees. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.