Yankees' Aaron Boone Sends Aaron Judge Message Before MLB Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 2:39 PM ET

The New York Yankees are heading back to the postseason surging after taking eight straight games to finish off the year. Unfortunately, despite finishing tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the best AL record (94–68), the Yankees will still host a wild card series on Tuesday, as Toronto owns the tiebreaker.

The Yankees captain, Aaron Judge, will be entering the postseason after an impressive month of September. The 33-year-old right-handed slugger owned a .370 batting average, .527 on-base percentage, 1.292 OPS, ten home runs and 17 RBIs over his last 25 games of the regular season. Judge remains in contention for the AL MVP after establishing himself as the best hitter in the league once again, with nobody else particularly close. However, as the calendar flips to October, concerns have begun to rise again over whether Judge can be a contributor in the postseason.

Judge struggled during last year’s deep run to the World Series, batting just .184 with nine total hits in 14 games, creating a hole at the top of New York’s lineup. While Judge has remained the focal point of the Yankees offense, concerns have mounted over whether he’s capable of rising to the occasion on baseball’s biggest stage.

When asked about Judge’s struggles and whether he’d be able to turn it around this year, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent a clear message. He replied, “Aaron Judge is the greatest player going. He's unbelievable day-to-day. He has an obsession with trying to get a little bit better wherever he can.”

"Aaron Judge is the greatest player going. He's unbelievable day-to-day. He has an obsession with trying to get a little bit better."

Aaron Boone is asked about Aaron Judge ahead of the postseason: pic.twitter.com/HnXYBrVyGD
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 29, 2025

Judge will enter the postseason with full confidence in his manager to continue performing as the best hitter in MLB. He had another historic year in the Bronx, collecting a fifth consecutive All-Star selection. The Yankees captain is well on his way to the Hall of Fame and has an impressive list of accolades throughout his ten-year career: 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, four Silver Sluggers and two AL MVPs (2022, 2024).

Judge still has never won a World Series title with the Yankees, though, and time may be winding down as he approaches his mid-30s. Regardless, New York will have yet another shot this year to win the franchise’s 28th World Series title and first since 2009.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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