What Happened To Aaron Judge? After Yankees Fall Short In World Series, Fans Are Asking Questions

Aaron Judge seemed to flip the script on his disastrous World Series and postseason with one swing of the bat on Tuesday, as he hit his first home run of the fall classic in the first inning to give the New York Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Then, it all came crashing down.

The captain committed the first of two errors in the top of the fifth inning as New York squandered a 5-0 lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Judge dropped a line drive to center off the bottom of his glove as Enrique Hernandez sprinted into second. Another mistake from Anthony Volpe extended the inning, and a two-run double from Teoscar Hernandez tied the game at five.

The Yankees would lose 7-6 and the W.S. in five games to the Dodgers. Judge finished with a .222 batting average, up over 100 points from his first three games, where he hit .083 with just one home run and three RBIs with seven strikeouts. He came into the playoffs with his post-season resume in question and left with more pressure to perform after a disastrous October. “I think falling short in the World Series will stay with me until I die,” he said last night as he could not hold back his pain.

His stat line is even more confusing and disappointing due to his regular season play. Judge was a better overall hitter than when he broke the AL home run record two years ago, batting .322, leading the league in RBIs and finishing fifth in hits.

He may have difficulty replicating those numbers next year without Juan Soto batting in front of him. The soon-to-be free agent did not commit to his future last night and said that all 30 teams have an opportunity to sign him. Some MLB analysts believe he could sign a $600 million contract or rival Shohei Ohtani‘s deal last off-season.