Can Aaron Judge save baseball? Can Aaron Judge save the Yankees? Can Aaron Judge save himself?

If we've learned anything over the last two nights, it's that...

a. The Redsocks are a can of tomatoes.
b. Yankee Stadium crowds aren't dead, after all.
c. Our bullpen will bite us in October.
d. Aaron Judge could still falter in his HR quest.

For now, let's ponder "d," the history-homer chase that most Gammonites cynically assumed would have ended by now - neatly, at home, on YES. I'd like to remind you of the Iron Law of Happenstance, which states, in Yogi Berraian style: 

"It aint happened 'til it happens."

Watching Judge, I am in awe of his poise and coolness, facing a media glare that few modern athletes ever will see. He is staring down The Abyss, and showing no fear, stress or constipation. When he steps to the plate, I am more frightened for him than he seems to be. But until he hits number 61, he hasn't hit number 61. And with each at bat, The Abyss licks its chops. 

But let us consider the fundamental questions:

Can Judge save baseball? He'd do this by beating Barry Bonds and the steroidal, turn-of-the-century  blimps, who still haunt us the way a Bud Selig statue terrifies the children of Milwaukee. There is no chance Judge will catch Bonds. But he will become the face of baseball, and his graceful smile will give the sport a HR leader who isn't forever tainted. It's sad that MLB - attempting to make fans forget the strike of 1994-95 - nearly ruined its most prized records. Judge can correct that. He can save baseball. 

Can Judge save the Yankees? We'll soon know. Everything he does over the next two weeks will be eclipsed by his month of October. Before Judge took over the 2022 season, the Yankees were about to be bypassed in NYC by the Mets. Once an historical switch is flipped, it's hard to correct. (See the dynamic between the Yankees and Redsocks, since 2004.) Barring a collapse - (which, sadly, is still possible) - the Yankees will hit the postseason with their best team since 2019, when they won 103 games. That year, they lost to a bunch of cheaters. But in the books, it just says that they lost. So, yes, he can save the Yankees. 

Can Judge save himself? This shall be answered come winter. Judge is having the greatest season in baseball history. He deserves an astronomical package - I can't even imagine the numbers - an unprecedented set of zeros. It conjures one question: What will he want? Would he like to remain a Yankee icon, fated for Monument Park, Cooperstown, NYC mythology, a slot in the YES booth? Will he go home to San Francisco (Oakland seems unlikely, eh?) Will he pick LA and - gulp - Hollywood? Or will he go for the money - the scootz, the cabbage, the rinkga, the glebbish - wherever it takes him, the Robbie Joggy Cano experience? 

That's where saving himself comes in. We all know what happened to Joggy, even those of us who ask, "Hey, whatever happened to Joggy?" Would Judge go for the money, every last thin dime, even to - say - Boston or Queens? The Players Union would love this. His numbers will cause all others to increase. "All rise," right?

I don't want him to short himself, to die in a paupers' prison. But it won't just be his HR record that goes up for auction. It will be his soul. Hope he saves it.