BOSTON — There is a tendency to underrate Aaron Judge, which — given his stature, both literal and figurative, and the numbers he has posted across his first two calendar years as a major league player — seems impossible to do.
Part of that is because Judge has come of baseball age at a time of fresh Yankees renaissance, so there are plenty of other players worth talking about who share the Yankees clubhouse. Part of that is his personality: humble and unassuming, far more comfortable talking about the team than his contribution to it.
As Judge himself said not long ago: “The great thing about this team is that there is always someone who can pick you up. As a young player it takes the pressure off you knowing you don’t have to come through in every spot — even though you want to — because there are so many other good players on this team.”
He paused, and smiled, aware of what a rare privilege that is.
“Not every young player is in that situation,” Judge said.
Here’s the thing, though:
We’ve had a week now to digest the reality of a Yankees lineup without Judge in it, specifically the high-octane Yankees batting order that this year had Judge anchored in the No. 2 hole. It is a reality the Yankees will have to deal with for at least a couple of more weeks, as he recovers from getting hit on the wrist last Thursday thanks to a wayward 94-mph fastball thrown by the Royals’ Jakob Junis.
Some of the difference is just ethereal, about feel and comfort; when Judge is the second player a pitcher has to deal with in a game, it’s a daunting task. When you know he’s probably getting five plate appearances thanks to that slot in the order, it makes a manager have to obsess about him all game.
But there is a harder truth at work here, too.
Entering Thursday’s game at Fenway Park, the first of a four-game series with the Red Sox, the Yankees have played 18 games without Judge in the starting lineup dating to the start of the 2017 season.
They have won seven of those games.
They have lost 11 of those games.
And that, as much as anything, tells you just how much the Yankees miss Judge’s looming presence at the top of their order. They are 3-2 in the five games he’s missed during his current DL stint and both of those losses were almost identical — they got behind big to awful teams (the Royals once, the Orioles once), fought their way back, and fell just short in completing their comebacks.
Maybe Judge makes a difference in those games, maybe he doesn’t.
But just having him around would make an inordinate difference. Just having him around MAKES an inordinate difference. As Joe Torre always used to say: Nobody is going to hold a telethon for the Yankees when they experience hardship. And that’s especially true in a year when the Yankees have still managed to maintain a 102-win pace into August, with or without him.
But it is a reminder for sure. This stuff happens. You rarely truly appreciate some things until they’re gone. People have written songs, sonnets and short stories about that. There have been movies and plays written about it. Only because it’s true.
Judge was seen at Fenway Park on Thursday, earlier in the day, working on agility drills, making sure he keeps his legs, doing conditioning work in the empty ballpark. As far as the Red Sox are concerned, if that was the only way they have to see him this weekend, they’ll sign up for that. Giving Judge 20 or so cracks at the Green Monster this weekend probably would’ve borne some fruit.
The Yankees? They’ll bide their time. They’ll wait. Having Giancarlo Stanton in Judge’s old No. 2 hole isn’t a bad alternative (even if he’s only at .190/.217/.381 in the five games he’s been there since the injury). But it’ll be a damn sight better to go back to how it used to be.
