CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 14: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees celebrates his 300th career home run after the game bacw at Guaranteed Rate Field on August 14, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Judge hit his 300th career home run in the eighth inning of the game. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
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The New York Yankees got yet another powerful reminder of just how valuable their superstar slugger is and it came with a bit of urgency from the player himself.
On Thursday, Aaron Judge won his third career American League Most Valuable Player Award after another season of performing as the best hitter in the sport. His individual success has made the nine-year, $360 million contract he signed with the team in 2022 seem like a bargain, but the team has been unable to build a championship caliber supporting cast around it.
“The big man deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra — the franchise’s other three-peaters,” Bob Klapisch wrote for NJ.com. “They, like Judge, were larger than life. There were times in their respective careers that Berra, DiMaggio and Mantle belonged in a higher league. But unlike Judge, they were champions. There were 26 World Series rings between them. Judge is stuck at zero.”
The Yankees have been in the mix for another World Series title for most of Judge’s tenure with the team, including a trip all the way to the Fall Classic in 2024, though they were outmatched by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But as they continue to come up short in a city with perennial championship expectations, Judge’s lack of World Series rings will continue to be his focus, no matter how many MVP Awards he wins. In the wake of receiving his latest individual accolade, Judge sent a clear message to the Yankees about where his focus will be.
“I would trade every award and All-Star Game appearance to win one championship,” Judge said, according to Klapisch. “Hopefully, next year will be the year. It’s my main focus. It’s why I’m trying to finish the job.”
As the Yankees look to reconstruct the team around Judge where they can this winter, the slugger’s message could be taken as a pressing call to action. The team clearly needs to improve its fundamentals, defense and baserunning, with some apparent holes in the rotation, bullpen, infield and outfield. If anything, Judge’s individual success should be increasing the team’s urgency to win it all while they still have him at the peak of his powers.
“We can’t say the Yankees are wasting Judge’s best years just yet, but the clock is sure ticking louder and louder,” wrote CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder. “He’s not going to be this awesome much longer.”
In the meantime, Judge and his teammates are hoping that just one more year of MVP caliber slugging will be enough to earn a ring.