Aaron Judge has been here too many occasions before: watching another team rejoice in entrance of him at Yankee Stadium.
“Just hating every single moment of it,’’ Judge said of his thoughts when he was sitting in the dugout after the Rays beat the Yankees 4-3 to complete a three-game sweep of the ALDS. “So I don’t forget it. I was thinking of missed opportunities this season and this series.”
That may be what the 2026 Yankee season will most be remembered for, as Judge was compelled to miss such a sizable chunk of the common season due to a fractured rib that price him over three months and then the strained calf that prevented him from enjoying in the postseason.
Asked how shut he was to being activated for the ALDS after lacking the wild-card sequence win over Boston, Judge said, “We’re talking hypotheticals. If I was on the roster or not, guys were out there fighting and I had all the faith in them. I like our chances whether I’m out there or not.”
Aaron Judge and George Lombard Jr. look on from dugout after the Yankees’ 4-3 season-ending loss to the Rays in Game 3 of their ALDS sequence on Oct. 7, 2026 in The Bronx. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
He said he was “feeling great,” but the lineup actually missed Judge’s presence — just as it did during the common season.
“It definitely hurts,’’ Judge said. “You want to be out there. You try to get out there as soon as you can. It hurts not to get a chance to get out and battle.”
Now, the Yankees have to watch the relaxation of the postseason play out with out them and then head into an offseason stuffed with uncertainty, with a lockout possible in December.
Judge was requested what the team wants to do to get higher and keep away from being in this state of affairs again, as they have every yr of his profession.
Aaron Judge is seen during lineup bulletins before the begin of Game 3. Robert Sabo for New York Post
“We’re the Yankees,’’ Judge said. “I feel like [the front office] should go all in and do what they need to do. If we’ve got holes, if it’s finding certain players, whatever we need.”
He praised the contributions of younger gamers like Cam Schlittler, George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones and said he was impressed with how Anthony Volpe bounced back after being despatched down to the minors.
None of it was enough to get the Yankees back to the high of the baseball world.
Judge said “a lot of things” want to occur for that to change.
“I control what I can as a player,’’ Judge said. “They give us a winning team every year. That’s not good enough in New York.”
And it resulted in a division rival clinching an ALDS win over the Yankees in The Bronx, with the Blue Jays doing it a yr in the past.
“I don’t like that, other teams celebrating at our place,’’ Judge said. “If you don’t like it, you’ve got to play better.”
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