The New York Yankees' upcoming Wild Card bout against the Boston Red Sox figures to be a battle that will test each club’s ability to handle pressure-packed situations. Yankees All-Star Aaron Judge has faced similar circumstances before, but has yet to have a signature October showing.
Judge recently spoke about the expectations that come with being New York’s captain and was honest about how he has attempted to deal with past failures and setbacks.
“I don’t think they’d name me the captain if they didn’t think I could handle it. It’s part of it. That’s what I want. Especially playing in New York, the fans expect the most out of you every single night. They expect you to go 4-for-4 every night and win every game,” Judge told The Athletic. “You get a lot of heat when that doesn’t happen, but you got to be able to brush those things off and just keep showing up ready to work and giving your best.”
Judge enjoyed a stellar 2025 regular season. The 33-year-old mashed 53 home runs, collected 114 RBIs, hit .331, and posted a 1.145 OPS over 152 games. Additionally, he ended the season on a high note and will hope that his momentum will carry over into the playoffs. Across his final seven games, he cranked four home runs and hit .375 on his way to the American League batting title.
“Pretty cool just to see him finish the way he did,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post. “After going on the IL, scuffling a little bit — by his standards — for the first couple weeks when he came back off the IL. He really helped carry us down the stretch this final month. Excited for him.”
The Yankees will begin their postseason journey against the Red Sox on Tuesday night. Garrett Crochet will start for Boston, and Max Fried will toe the rubber for New York.
