I mean, who didn't fear the worst? The guy looked hapless, pathetic, lunging after balls in the dirt. Moreover, there'd been rumors of an injury in Tampa, a tweak or a pull. Was Judge hiding an ailment that could hinder him all season?
As we soared into May - on the shoulders of great pitching - we marveled about the greatness of Juan Soto and the rise of Luis Gil, and we feared the worst for Judge.
Idiots...
Yeah, you. And me. Idiots. Admit it: We thought the confluence of players facing their contract years would spawn an offensive surge. Soto was a generational star, a transformative hitter who raised all others. Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton were having comeback seasons. Gleyber Torres and Alex Verdugo were coming around - "good swings," the YES midway barkers promised. Yeah, we ate that slop with a knife and fork.
Idiots.
Soon, maybe as early as this weekend, the Yankees will start feeling the breath of Boston, their fake arch-rival, in the expanded wild card race, the MLB Little League where any team over .500 can chase a postseason participation trophy.
Tonight and tomorrow, we'll find out whether the floundering Yankees can win a home series against a genuine tomato can, the Reds of Cincinnati, who sit at five games below .500 in the International League NL Central.
Check out the HR leader board. There's Judge, and there is everybody else. Once again, the Yankee Captain is competing not with other players, but with historical legends: Babe Ruth in 1927, Roger Maris in 1961, and Aaron Judge in 2022.
If he stays healthy - and every Yank fan knows how quickly the Fates can change that outcome - Judge might be having - gulp, dare I say it - the greatest season in MLB history.
Yeah, I said it. And let me now repeat it, because - yes, it's hyperbole - but Aaron Judge may be standing on the brink of the greatest season in MLB history. He might break his own all-time HR record, win the RBI title by 20, and even take the batting crown, as well. Nobody - not Ruth, not Ty Cobb, not Taylor Swift - has produced more big hits. If he wins the Triple Crown, he deserves foot massages from Travis Kelce.
Soon, maybe it will be time for Soto to bat leadoff - (Anthony Volpe needs a rest) - with Judge batting second. (Last night, neither came to bat in the ninth, with the game on the line, as the struggling Volpe popped out to SS.) It would mean more at-bats for the twosome, who have been the only offense on this currently woeful team.
Look, every team suffers through doldrums. Maybe this is just a cold spell. But anybody who watches this team closely knows that the last three weeks have exposed massive holes on this team, the depth of which will not be spackled over next month with a few phone calls by Cooperstown Cashman.
What we have, though, is something that fans of every team covet. We have the great Aaron Judge. We might get a glimpse of the most prolific hitting season in the history of the game. If that's what we get in 2024, it's not nuthin.