SI

Aaron Judge Gave the Simplest Explanation for Reboot Performance

Judge got on base three times in the closeout ALDS game.

Josh Wilson

Judge celebrates the Yankees clinching a spot in the 2024 ALCS
Judge celebrates the Yankees clinching a spot in the 2024 ALCS / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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Aaron Judge has not been himself this postseason. The All-Star slugger that led MLB with 58 home runs in the regular season went a combined 1-for-11 (three walks) in the first three games of the ALDS after a New York Yankees Wild Card bye.

Finally, New York's captain came alive in Game 4, a 3–1 Yankees win over the Kansas City Royals that punched their ticket to the ALCS. Judge walked twice, doubled and appeared settled into a more comfortable lane than the one he had occupied most of the series.

He didn't drive a run in himself but put himself in position to be driven in by Giancarlo Stanton, who has played well all series, in the top of the sixth, a run that pushed the Yankees win percentage up to 87.3%.

Judge spoke to Jon Morosi after the game and gave a very simple explanation for his return to form at the plate:

"It's just timing, you know. You just gotta, you've got to be ready to hit. You know, if you're not ready to hit, you're not going to have a good chance."

The series underscored career-long struggles from Judge in the postseason, who is a career .201 hitter in the playoffs.

Judge's next opportunity to put those struggles behind him will be in the ALCS. The Yankees will go up against the winner of a winner-take-all Game 5 between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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