In late April, the New York Yankees were rolling with a 14-7 record, but Aaron Judge was mired in one of the biggest slumps of his career. On April 20, the 2022 American League MVP went 0 for 4 in a 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, with Judge striking out four times. That was just one shy of his career-high of five strikeouts, and the game dropped Judge’s batting average to .179.
Fast forward nearly three months, and Judge has clearly broken out of his slump as he entered play on Thursday with a .307 batting average and leading the majors in a host of statistical categories. However, the boos from April still resonate with him, and he expanded on what it’s like to hear them, and why he deserves to hear them, in an interview on Casa De Klub, a podcast hosted by Judge’s former teammate and two-time Cy Young winner, Corey Kluber.
Yankees fans are among the most passionate in not just MLB but all sports. The rowdiest group of them is nicknamed the Bleacher Creatures, and while they usually target opposing players, they won’t hesitate to get on their own if those in Pinstripes aren’t performing to a certain standard. The Bleacher Creatures occupy a portion of the right field bleachers in Yankee Stadium, and Judge has been a right fielder most of his MLB career. So, no one felt the wrath of the Bleacher Creatures quite like he did during his struggles.
However, he wouldn’t change a thing. Even though the Yankees are the only Big League team he has ever played for, he knows that fans of other teams can be described as “fair-weather” and don’t show as much interest when a player of their team is struggling. Judge likes the passion that Yankees fans always display, whether that passion comes from something good or bad that happens on the diamond.
“I‘d rather have that than being in another city where the fans are just… they’re clapping when I just flew out for the fourth time… I grounded into a double play…they’re like, ‘it’s all right, you’ll get it next time,’” said Judge. “Man, that’s not why we play; you want to play to win. It’s a high standard, you know, we got high standards for ourselves, but the fans help remind you like, ‘hey, we got a high standard here in Pinstripes,' and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Judge’s approach to the booing will likely endear him more to the fans than the route that former Yankee Joey Gallo took. While he was struggling in New York in 2022, he admitted that he didn’t “go out” anymore because he didn’t “want to show” his face in the city. He also said the boos caused his confidence to suffer, and it manifested itself in his play. Gallo, who was a two-time All-Star and a lifetime .211 hitter before joining the Yankees, hit just .159 during parts of two seasons in Pinstripes before being traded just one day after making those comments in 2022.
What also surely endears Judge to the Yankees faithful is his performance at the plate, which rivals what he did when he won an MVP award two years ago. Judge leads the AL in home runs (32), RBI (83), slugging percentage (.672), OPS (1.096), and total bases (223). While his home run pace is just shy of 2022, when he set the AL single-season record with 62 dingers, his entire statistical slash line of batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS are all higher at this point of the season than at the same point two years ago.
For his efforts, Judge was rewarded by the fans—but not just New York Yankees fans. He accumulated the most fan votes for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game, and as a result, will start in the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday. He also won’t have to worry about booing from Yankees fans in that game, as it will take place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
