Plenty has been made of the fact that the New York Yankees pulled Aaron Judge from his return from injury early — as was the plan all along.
The dialogue around that makes it easy to forget that Judge played an actual baseball game before being taken out.
And when analyzing the night as a whole, it’s Judge’s time on the field that actually raises just a tiny bit of worry.
It was always going to make sense to pull him early from action. Judge didn’t go on a rehab assignment, which means he hasn’t really ramped up to game action despite not playing in more than three months.
When injured MLB players go to rehab, they usually start with five- or seven-inning stints before getting up to full speed.
Whether or not Judge is happy with the current arrangement is only a little bit relevant. The Yankees are considering the big picture, and they want Judge at full throttle in October, even if that means a little less of him now.
They’ll just have to hope that whatever plan they put in place for him allows him to find a rhythm, because he was definitely missing that on Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies.
How Did Aaron Judge Do?
Judge had three at bats before being pulled on Tuesday night.
He struck out in two of them.
You can see his mood in the picture at the top of that article, that signature Judge look that seems to say, “Ah man, I could’ve done something there.”
Of course, you can’t get too riled up about a couple strikeouts in his first game in more than three months.
Baseball is a sport that needs large sample sizes to really bear itself out, and this was a definitively small sample size.
Still, it’s all there is to go on right now, and Judge didn’t yet look totally locked in. It would’ve been unfair to expect anything different, of course, but that doesn’t mean it won’t bear watching going forward.
Mythos of Aaron Judge
Judge is one of those guys who just feels like he’s got a chance to do something magical each time he hits.
Some Yankees fans will bemoan his struggles in some clutch spots, but this is also a guy who hit a home run in his first at bat ever in the major leagues. From the moment he arrived, Judge has had the capability to rise to the occasion.
His return was highly anticipated and made for an enthralling atmosphere at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. It just didn’t result in any production.
The night when Judge makes all of the Yankees’ fanbase rise as one yet again probably isn’t too far off. After having to wait for his return, Judge’s struggles on Tuesday just will force all the fans in pinstripes to wait a little bit longer for that moment when it feels like he is truly back.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge Worry Is More Than Pulling Him Early