The New York Yankees showed a lot of heart coming back from a 6-1 deficit in last night’s Game 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. They were led by their captain who fueled the comeback with his bat and his glove.
Not sure if it is enough to shut up the delusional Yankee “fans” who spent the 48 hours leading into the game ripping Aaron Judge for having only three singles and a double in his first 7 ALDS at-bats.
The Judge “can’t hit in the postseason” narrative has been so prevalent that even I was shocked to discover that last night’s dramatic game-tying three-run shot was the 17th of his postseason career. As a matter of fact, his next one will tie him for 10th place all-time with Carlos Correa, Nelson Cruz, teammate Giancarlo Stanton, and Yankee legends Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle.
Judge is beloved in New York for his regular season prowess. However, for better or worse, when you wear pinstripes, you are ‘judged’ on winning championships. The Yankees have honored 22 men by retiring their numbers. All but one have at least one World Series ring with the Bronx Bombers.
True Yankees fans will continue to admire, honor and respect Judge even if he someday joins Don Mattingly on that short list. But we are a long way from that. Judge is only 33 and is coming off his best all-around season. More importantly, thanks to his heroics, there’s a Game 4 tonight (7:08p, FS1).
No matter what happens the rest of this postseason, last night Judge gave us a memorable October moment. He showed those who still doubt him that the moment is not too big for the best right-handed hitter in the game.
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