Can the New York Yankees actually win a World Series with Aaron Judge?
New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge has long been one of the best players in baseball, but at this rate, he could very well retire without a World Series ring.
You rarely, rarely see Yankee greats finish their career in the Bronx without a championship. But with Judge now potentially out for the season and turning 35 years old next April, the possibility is very real.
Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list with a calf strain on Friday, just over a week after he returned from a rib stress fracture that kept him sidelined over three months.
The playoffs start Sept. 29, so the chances of Judge actually being healthy for the Wild Card Series seem rather slim.
As Yankees fans already know from watching Giancarlo Stanton, calf injuries can be a pain to recover from, especially when you're a big guy.
There is a chance we don't see Judge again this season in Year 11 of his big-league career, one that has featured just one trip to the Fall Classic. You know, the one where Judge dropped a routine fly ball in center field to open the floodgates for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the deciding Game 5.
Judge has been otherworldly throughout most of his tenure in New York. But the Yankees don't measure success by regular-season accomplishments; they go by rings.
Judge does not have one, and while many will argue that you can't blame one player for that, we also have to keep in mind all of the three-time MVP's postseason failures.
Like in 2024, when Judge had his best opportunity to win a championship and came up very, very small. All while Stanton was doing everything he could to put the team on his back.
Heck, when the Yankees acquired Stanton in November 2017, right after Judge's first full season in the majors, a World Series title looked guaranteed. A lineup featuring both Judge and Stanton? Sign me up.
But having both sluggers in the lineup at the same time has been a rather rare sight in New York, and while Stanton has been the butt of many injury jokes over the years, let's be real here: Judge hasn't exactly been an ironman, either.
And now, with Judge approaching 35 and Stanton turning 37 in two months, the Yankees' championship window with this current core — that also includes 36-year-old Gerrit Cole — is in the swift process of slamming shut.
The Judge era was supposed to be rife with World Series rings. It was expected to be another Yankee dynasty. Instead, what we've gotten is early playoff exits and extended stints on the injured list.
There may still be one more chance for Judge to deliver a championship in pinstripes, but with every day that passes, that goal becomes less and less achievable.
