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    Matthew Schmidt
    Sep 14, 2025, 01:55
    Updated at: Sep 14, 2025, 01:55

    New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is already an all-time great, but his legacy is far from complete.

    It seems like everyday, New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is breaking another record. He is one of the best players of his generation, and he is already one of the best right-handed hitters ever. However, there is one glaring problem with Judge: his lack of playoff success.

    Yes, Judge leads the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage this season. He might win his third AL MVP award. He just eclipsed Joe DiMaggio on the Yankees' all-time home run list. But we are used to seeing this type of stuff from Judge. It isn't new.

    We have grown accustomed to witnessing Judge be a complete alien from late March through late September, but once the calendar flips to October, things change for the seven-time All-Star.

    A lifetime .292/.411/.613 hitter during the regular season, Judge's numbers plummet to .205/.318/.450 in the playoffs. Spare me the "small sample size" talk, too. Judge has batted under .200 four of the seven postseasons in which he has appeared. He has struck out 86 times over 262 plate appearances. Last year, he hit .184. Back in 2022, he posted a .490 OPS.

    New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images.

    Judge's playoff bugaboos have become a major problem, and it's the one thing truly keeping him from the company of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Derek Jeter among Yankees history.

    This isn't to say that Judge isn't a great player. He is brilliant. But there is no denying the fact that he becomes a different player in the playoffs. He's the anti-Giancarlo Stanton, who steps up his game when it matters most.

    New York will almost certainly make the postseason this fall, so Judge will get another shot at redemption. Remember: he was last seen dropping a routine fly ball in Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. He probably still relives the play every day. Who wouldn't? But he can't let it affect his mental fortitude in 2025.

    Make no mistake: the Yankees desperately need Aaron Judge to be Aaron Judge if they want to make a deep run next month. Even if Stanton goes nuclear like he seems to do in every postseason, remember that there is no Juan Soto this year to supplement him. Yes, Cody Bellinger is around, and pieces like Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm have been huge throughout the year, but if Judge falls flat in the playoffs again this season, the Yanks can kiss their championship hopes goodbye.

    Judge has already done everything he needs to do during the 162-game regular season. If his career ended today, he would probably be a Hall-of-Famer. But to establish his place on the Yankees' Mt. Rushmore, he must deliver when it actually counts.