Perhaps it was wishful thinking, or just trying to will it into existence.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking, or just trying to will it into existence.
But Aaron Judge knows by now that a historically great regular season only buys him so much goodwill from the fan base when the postseason rolls around.
And with the Yankees arriving back in The Bronx on Monday facing a 2-0 deficit in the World Series, with Judge’s ill-timed slump at the heart of their struggles, an angsty Yankee Stadium could await in Game 3.
“We got the best fans in baseball, so they’re definitely going to be loud, they’re going to be rowdy, they’re going to have our back all game,” Judge said Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
One way to ensure that will actually be the case throughout Monday night would be for Judge to deliver an early jolt after going a brutal 6-for-40 with 19 strikeouts through his first 11 games this October.
But what happens if the presumptive AL MVP strikes out in his first at-bat or two? Or he just comes up empty again with runners on base, especially if the Dodgers take an early lead?
It was only two years ago that Judge, 10 days removed from hitting his record-breaking 62nd home run, was booed in Game 2 of the ALDS amid a quiet start to his playoffs.
There is always a chance that Yankee Stadium could pull a Citizens Bank Park for Trea Turner or Citi Field for Francisco Lindor and give Judge a standing ovation ahead of his first at-bat Monday.
