As disastrous as the 2024 World Series has been for the New York Yankees, no player has taken more heat than Aaron Judge. The likely American League MVP has been a complete non-factor in three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his manager considered moving him up to the lead-off spot prior to Game 4.
Aaron Boone toyed with the idea, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, but he did not want to mess with Gleyber Torres‘ playoff hot streak.
Judge is 1-12 in the World Series with a walk and seven strikeouts. Overall in the postseason, he is batting .140 — a touch worse than the .150 average he compiled in the Yankees’ 2022 playoff run.
“You want to be getting the hits,” Judge said, per ESPN, after the Yankees’ Game 3 loss to go down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. “You want to be going out there doing your job. But I’m not doing my job right now. So I got to pick it up.”
Nevertheless, Judge will approach Game 4 with an optimistic attitude. He will bat third in the order, his usual spot, behind Juan Soto.
“All it takes is one,” he added. “All it takes is one swing, one at-bat, one play, and everything changes. That’s the mindset you got to have.”
Leadoff hitter Gleyber Torres has been one of the few bright spots in the Yankees’ offense
Boone also said before Game 4 that he trusts Judge’s “greatness” will show up. But to find it, he was not willing to move Torres out of the spot in the order that revitalized his season. Until mid-August, Torres was headed toward by far the worst season of his career with free agency looming this winter. On August 14, he was hitting .236 with a .658 OPS.
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His manager moved him into the leadoff spot the next game, and Torres took off. He finished the regular season hitting .313 over his last 39 games, batting first in every game he started.
That carried over into the postseason. Not only is he one of the few Yankees who have hit (.271 BA, .786 OPS), but he has been the ultimate tone setter. Torres has reached base in the first inning in 10 of the Yankees’ 12 playoff games. And with Soto and Judge behind him, he has put the Yankees in position to take early leads time and again.
The Yankees have yet to score first in the World Series, and if they want to prolong their season, some early momentum could go a long way. They just need Judge to get going too.