Yankees and Aaron Judge Need a Championship Together

Guest Post from Clay Gregory

April 24, 2025

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The Yankees' legacy is about winning championships and nothing else. The organization is built upon the backs of legends of the game who defied all odds and rose to otherworldly status in the baseball universe. There is pride in being a Yankee, and with that also comes the sky-high expectations of adding a 28th World Series championship to that list.

Aaron Judge is a superstar in his prime right now and has already won two MVP awards, and if his torrid pace to open this season keeps on, he will most likely be adding another to his list. Sure, the Yankees made the World Series last year, but making it to the big dance has never been the main goal for the Yanks; it is to win it all and to always strive for championships.

Don Mattingly was a Yankee great who is cherished for all he has done. Donnie Baseball was a bright spot during the years when the playoffs never seemed to come for the Yankees. He played the game the right way, and if not for a chronic back injury that affected his play, he could have continued to add to his legacy. The one thing missing from that legacy is a World Series championship.

Aaron Judge and Don Mattingly are intertwined and yet so different. Aaron Judge has been to a World Series, has played in 58 games so far in the playoffs, and has hit .205 with 16 home runs and 34 RBIs. Don Mattingly only got to have one playoff experience, and that was in 1995, where he made the most of it by hitting .417 with one home run and 6 RBIs, and had to call it a career right before the Yankees started their next dynasty in 1996 under Derek Jeter and company. At least for now, the one thing both have in common is that Judge and Mattingly have never won a World Series for New York. Aaron Judge has many years left to try and add that to his resume, as long as injury does not derail him, but the one thing that the Yankees can not do is to fail their captain by not adding the necessary piece around him to bring title number 28 to the Bronx.

2009, being the last year for a championship, seems like an eternity for the Yankees. Hal Steinbrenner and company have spent money and brought some fantastic pieces into the fold, and it appears that they were willing to pay a premium price to keep Soto. When that did not happen, they did pivot and add Max Fried and some well-respected veterans to the lineup in Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger. Giancarlo Stanton, being out with what has been described as tennis elbow, has just now started taking batting practice for the Yanks in his journey to return to the lineup.

That said, the facts are that the big names, the legit superstars, over the past offseasons have chosen destinations other than the Bronx to call home. Going out and spending will never guarantee a championship in baseball, but it sure does give the team greater odds of making that dream a reality. The Yankees had it right when they started a youth movement with the baby bombers, and their best success story has been Aaron Judge. Now is the time to add pieces to the puzzle to build a legitinate World Series-winning team. The Yankees cannot waste Aaron Judge’s prime years that are left and not win at least one for the captain.

Championships define teams, and players, it takes their status up into the stratosphere when they stand out on a championship-caliber team. A lot has been said of Judge’s playoff struggles, and facts are facts, and I am sure the man himself is eager to get back into October and prove all his doubters wrong and forge a playoff legacy that can only be done as a Yankee. Twenty-nine other teams strive to have the legacy of the New York Yankees, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, who seem to love throwing money around these days.

Nothing is guaranteed in baseball, and it is one of many reasons baseball is the best game on earth. The fans are clamoring for title number 28 to come to the organization. The captain is in his prime and eager to take the team there. Here’s to hoping Hal and Brian Cashman help him get there and to continue the definition of what being a Yankee is all about, greatness.