Oct 8, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a single during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Yankees Waste Another Year of Aaron Judge

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Erin Shapland | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Aaron Judge is still waiting on a championship ring with the New York Yankees, and he'll be turning 34 come spring. The Yankees have wasted Judge in his prime for yet another season, and they won't have many more opportunities to go all the way with the best player in baseball.

Even with an elbow injury that limited his production late in the summer, Judge had another mind-boggling year of baseball, surpassing some Yankees legends on the all-time home run leaderboard, leading the league in almost every major batting statistic and coming in clutch, at last, in a postseason moment that is now burned into the minds of Yankee fans for eternity. Still, it wasn't enough to keep up with the poor management of this team, the inferior offensive effort all around, and shoddy defense that kept the Yankees on a razor-thin margin of error until the bitter end of the regular season.

Yankees Not Changing Anything

With talk of Aaron Boone staying on board as the Yankees 2026 manager already, it has to cross Judge's mind that he may not get the World Series win he deserves for the career he is having. The two-time AL MVP and favorite for a third was forlorn following this latest loss, and joked that he wants to get right back out and play when asked what the offseason will look like for him.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

"I want to get back out there right now," Judge said. "I wish spring training was in a couple weeks, [...] but [we've] just got to go back to work. Figure out what I can improve on and what I need to do."

It's hard to summon to mind what Judge needs to improve on. While he isn't known to be strong in the postseason or in clutch moments, his three-run bomb to tie up Game 3 of the ALDS made fans feel like Judge really can do it all, but he couldn't singlehandedly take on the 2025 Blue Jays' offense. Judge's RBI and a solo homer from Ryan McMahon were the only runs on the board for the Yankees in their 5-2 loss.

The team's shortcomings don't diminish Judge's individual accomplishments, and Judge is going down in history regardless, but this is a team sport (even when the Yankees feel like a one man show). Fans are feeling the pain of watching a generational talent miss the top of the mountain year after year, and surely the captain is feeling it too.

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