Fingers pointing at Yankees star over postseason struggle should be directed elsewhere

There are many reasons the New York Yankees are coming undone this postseason, varying from their inability to put the bat on the ball, unnerving managerial decisions, inconsistent rotation and an unreliable bullpen.

But among many valid reasons, Aaron Judge is not one of them. In the playoffs this year, Judge has gone 8-for-18 with a double, sporting an on-base percentage of .524. He has reached base in over half of his plate appearances, giving his team numerous opportunities to score, most of which they have squandered. Judge has only scored twice.  

The Yankees have a lot of flaws that are fair game for any writer or analyst. But what is amazing, besides the Yankees' overall abysmal performance, is that analysts and TV personalities have seemingly placed the blame (in some cases, only partially) on the Yankee captain, explaining that he hasn’t done enough or that he isn’t slugging, often citing that he is yet to hit his first postseason home run and alluding to his previous playoff performances. 

To start, Judge is only one player, and one who is batting for a postseason OPS of 1.026. Any assumption that Judge hasn’t done enough is more so an indictment of the team itself, as such a statement suggests that Judge is the team. That said, Judge can carry the team when at his best, but when faced with games where the Yankees lose 10-1 or 13-7, it doesn’t appear as though one player can make all the difference. Judge can’t bat in all nine lineup spots, hit a six-run home run or fix the Yankees pitching staff. The blame doesn’t rest with Judge; it rests with nearly every Yankee other than him.

Pitching to a cumulative 6.07 ERA, the Yankees have the second-worst ERA in the playoffs, coming in ahead of only the Cincinnati Reds, whose 9.00 ERA got them swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL wild-card round. Of every Yankee hitter with over 10 plate appearances (that’s nine hitters), only four (Judge, Anthony Volpe, Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon) have batting averages higher than .215. Three of these players (Jazz Chisholm Jr., Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham) own batting averages below .190. Judge and Paul Goldschmidt, who has seen just seven plate appearances, are the only Yankee hitters with batting averages over .275.

The Yankees face elimination on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, who have them in a 0-2 stranglehold during this deeply disappointing, best-of-five ALDS for New York. The Yankees will need to execute perfectly if they are to avoid elimination. But if the Yankees are eliminated, it won’t be because of what Judge did or didn't do.