Sometimes all it takes to get out of a hitting slump is a little help from the beyond, an assist from the dead.
At least that is what New York Yankees star Aaron Judge believes.
Judge trots around the bases after his two-run bomb to center fieldJason Szenes / New York Post
Judge was finally able to break out of his postseason slump with a massive two-run shot to deep center field in the Yankees 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians to take a 2-0 series lead in the ALCS.
Through the first five playoff games, Judge was hitting at an astonishing low .133 (2-for-15), while drawing six walks.
Considered to be the greatest hitter on the planet, Judge has battled the reputation of not rising to the occasion and seizing the moment in his postseason career.
His October moments have been few and far between.
Until now.
Clinging to a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning, Judge stepped up to the plate and launched a 414 foot bomb that sent Yankee Stadium into an absolute frenzy.
When asked about it after the game, Judge wasn’t even sure it was going to get out.
“You never know on these windy, chilly nights what that ball is going to do when you hit the center here,” Judge said, “but the ghosts were pulling out there to Monument Park, that’s for sure.”
The ghosts were indeed pulling out there on a crispy cold October evening in the Bronx.
And sometimes, that is all it takes.
Judge celebrates with teammates as he enters the dugout after his massive two-run shotCorey Sipkin / New York Post
Yankees manager, Aaron Boone, wasn’t worried about whether or not his star player would get out of his slump or not.
“Always a matter of time with Aaron,” Boone said.
If the Yankees want to capture a 28th world championship, and reach the World Series for the first time since 2009, it is going to take Judge playing at his usual AL MVP level to do it.
That’s no secret.
As star-studded as these Yankees are, with the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, Gerrit Cole and Clay Holmes, they will need Judge’s bat if they want title number 28.
Judge knows he has to stay within himself and stick to doing what he knows, and not allow himself to get lost in October moment.
“Just don’t make any moment too big, man,” Judge said. “It’s still the same game we play and we’ve been playing our whole life. So that’s how I try to treat it.”
AARON JUDGE HOME RUN!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/T5H6XUZLOv
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 16, 2024
Judge and his pinstripe crew now head to Cleveland where they will be looking to close out the series, but it won’t be easy.
Guardians manager, Stephen Vogt, likes when his team’s back is against the wall.
“This is a really good baseball team we’re playing,” Vogt said. “We’ve known that all year. We know we have our work cut out for us, but that’s who we are. We thrive under this, and we’re going to be ready to go.”
They better be ready to go, because they already find themselves in a 0-2 hole.
And they better hope those ghosts don’t travel with Judge to Cleveland, because if they do, this series is over.