Perspectives: Winning, Winners, Aaron Judge, And More...

by Paul Semendinger

March 18, 2026

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(A quick note - My responses to Dusty's article from yesterday will run tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.)

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Our most prolific author here, Mr. Tim Kabel, has written on many occasions that he is not all that optimistic about the 2026 Yankees. Neither am I.

And neither are a lot of other Yankees fans.

Sure there are some that are hoping, or who believe the Yankees will be good, But I'm not among them. Like Tim, I have explained my position on this numerous times. No need to get into it all again today.

The point I wish to make here is that I miss the days when the Yankees made every effort to be the best team, not just a team that is slightly better than the competition.

The Yankees used to measure themselves against greatness not against the real or perceived weakness of the other teams in the league.

We hear this a lot - "Compared to the rest of the league, the Yankees should be one of the better teams."

In other words, even the most optimistic have moved on from "This might be a great team" to "The Yankees should be a little better than a little better than average."

The difference between being pretty good and great is vast. Some fans, many fans, in fact, have accepted the "I hope they're a little better than pretty good" approach.

I have not. And I never will.

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The Yankees simply do not have the "win or go home" approach (the "killer instinct") any longer. We all see it - and have seen this for a generation now. Trying to deny the obvious is foolish.

Until the Yankees show true urgency, and a commitment to being great... they won't be great. It's that simple.

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I engaged in a discussion last week with a fervent Yankees fan who questioned Aaron Judge's leadership as captain. The person asked me, "Is Judge a winner?"

I know people aren't supposed to ask that question without all sorts of pushback and anger from other fans, but it is a fair question.

And Aaron Judge also still has time to answer that question. The hope is that Aaron Judge has many many many postseason games in his future where he helps lead the Yankees to many victories.

But, to date, Judge hasn't been a big winner and he hasn't, by and large, stepped-up big when the lights are the brightest.

This doesn't mean that Aaron Judge isn't a great or beloved or a terrific Yankee or anything like that. He is great, but we have to be able to talk about the players honestly.

And to date, however great as he is, Aaron Judge has not proven to be a winner.

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Years ago, people stated that Alex Rodriguez wasn't a great postseason player. That was a talking point by virtually everyone. A-Rod was disliked by many. Writers and fans loved to talk about how he failed in the clutch.

It was easy for people to "hate" on A-Rod.

Here's an interesting comparison:

Aaron Judge is a .236 hitter in the postseason. He has struck out 91 times in 65 games.

In the postseason, A-Rod batted .259. He struck out 77 times in 76 games.

A-Rod's postseason OPS was .822.

Aaron Judge's postseason OPS is .822.

They both, at the moment, have 41 career postseason runs batted in.

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In sports, we celebrate the players that step-up in the big moments. The stories of history are told of people who came through when it mattered the most. Judge hasn't really done that yet.

In the final game of the WBC, with the championship on the line, Bryce Harper (who should have been a Yankee - failing to sign him was one of the biggest mistakes the franchise ever made) hit a game tying homer in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Aaron Judge followed up that big moment by striking out. Looking. He looked at called strike three.

In that final game, Judge went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

In the WBC, Aaron Judge batted .222.

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A quick aside to relay one of my pet peeves...

The season will begin in a week. We will hear 450,000,000,000 times, as we do every season, that one team or another "has the momentum" - as if "momentum" has this magical power to control a game.

Aaron Judge, one of the greatest players in the game, came up in the bottom of the 8th with the game just tied when another of the game's current greats hit a game-tying home run.

If ever there was momentum, that was it. The USA had all the momentum. 100%. This was a "momentum moment."

Judge then struck out looking.

Where was this magical thing they call "momentum"?

Momentum simply doesn't exist. Momentum is something announcers say (and fans repeat) because it sounds good and sometimes it seems to have some mystical power, but it doesn't. At all. There is no such thing. Last night proved that point perfectly.

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A few seasons ago, when Aaron Judge had a chance for the triple crown, he sat out the last game of the season. He didn't go for it. Instead of stepping up, he sat.

I was critical of Judge sitting at the time. Plenty of fans gave excuses for Judge sitting. They said that he was putting the team first. They said he was tired and needed a rest (even though the after the game, the Yankees would have the next week off).

The bottom line is this - a chance for history was afforded to Judge and instead of grabbing it, he sat the game out.

I know many many will support Judge and that decision. I know some will write in and say "He's the best player of his generation!"

And Judge is a great player. He just might be the best player of his generation. He is one of the greatest Yankees of all-time. No one is debating that point. No one.

But, when a great player sits down with the chance for history in front of him, it sends a message. A loud message. It sends an unmistakable message.

The players in the locker room are are determined professionals - men who have worked extremely hard to get to where they are. These are not the types of people who sit down in the biggest moments. They all got where they are, even the last guy on the bench, by stepping up in the biggest moments. They lived their lives putting it all on the line. Sitting out a game is against all of their very natures. This is a characteristic that defines athletes. Champions, winners, push through. They just do. It's what they do. If they fail, they fail while daring greatly (to borrow from a Theodore Roosevelt quote).

I would argue that every player in that locker room would have given his right arm to have the chance Judge did that day. I can virtually guarantee that every one of them saw Judge sitting and thought (even if they didn't say it out loud), "There's no way I would sit this game out. I have dreamed of this moment my entire life."

Our actions speak loudly.

We don't celebrate the player who sits down or who fails to produce. In fact, we often look back at those players, however great as they might have been, with pity and a sense of remorse.

"If only..."

I sincerely hope that we don't look back on Aaron Judge's career that way when it is all over.

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And, yes, of course, a team is a team and Aaron Judge is not the team. I get it. But he is the leader on the team - the best player - and great players are judged (no pun intended), fair or not, on championships and awards and the times the led the league and captured various honors.

Dan Marino was a great quarterback. No one considers him the greatest ever because he never won a Super Bowl.

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I hope Aaron Judge has a huge season in 2026 (and beyond). Aaron Judge is an easy player to root for. We all want him to win.

I hope he begins to change this narrative and makes the question of whether he is a winner or not moot as soon as this postseason. And then I hope he does it again many many more times over and over.

But right now, the question that was asked, "Is Aaron Judge a winner?" is a fair one.

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Some people were critical of Judge's comments that the WBC is better than the World Series. I get the criticism, but the comment didn't bother me. I want Aaron Judge to care more about the World Series than the WBC. Of course. I want a World Series championship to be his goal. The Yankees are paying him to help the Yankees win a World Series.

On the other hand, Judge was caught-up in the excitement of the tournament. I don't really have an issue with that.

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A final thought - maybe Aaron Judge enjoyed the atmosphere of excited fans at the WBC more than the fake atmosphere at Yankee Stadium where all they do now is pump in loud music and sounds at the highest decibel levels from the first pitch to the end of the game.

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Opening Day is a week away, and yet, many fans won't see the game because it will be on a streaming service. This is the Yankees for you. This is Major League Baseball today.

A lot of people are concerned about a lockout in 2027. I have heard them say, "I won't be able to see Opening Day next year." Well, for many fans, they won't be able to see it this year either. In that regard, there will be no difference.