Judge still searching for his ring as Yankees' title drought continues
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge's historic season and huge October weren't enough for the New York Yankees, whose last World Series title has become a distant memory.
New York's 16th consecutive season without a championship ended with a 5-2 loss Wednesday night to Toronto, which won the AL Division Series 3-1 and advanced to a pennant matchup against Seattle or Detroit.
Judge hit .500 (13 for 25) with seven RBIs and four walks in seven postseason games, including .600 (9 for 15) with one homer, six RBIs and four walks against the Blue Jays. But a year after losing a five-game World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees fell 10 wins short of a title and are still looking for championship No. 28.
Running at first base when Cody Bellinger ended the game with a strikeout, Judge walked slowly toward the Yankees dugout and turned his head to watch the Blue Jays celebrate on New York's infield.
Now 33 and perhaps on the verge of his third AL MVP award, Judge has had eight unfulfilling trips to the playoffs in 10 big league seasons.
Instead of moving alongside Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter in adding to a the Yankees' championship collection, Judge remains in the same category as Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield — known for the absence of ice on their fingers during their time in the Bronx.
Judge won his first AL batting title by hitting .331 with 114 RBIs and 53 home runs — reaching 50 for the fourth time. He is on a Hall of Fame track with a .294 career average and 368 homers, and he has a .235 postseason average with 16 homers and 41 RBIs in 65 games.
A year after an AL East title and a five-game World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees had a winning record for the 33rd straight season but finished second to Toronto in the division and rallied to win their best-of-three Wild Card Series against Boston after losing the opener.
New York was outscored 34-19 by the Blue Jays and outhomered 9-4, a surprise for an offense that led the major leagues with 274 homers and scored a big league high 50.2% of its runs on long balls, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
And just like last year, defense precipitated the demise. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. allowed Andrés Giménez's grounder to skip off his glove for an error instead of turning it into an inning-ending double play, and Nathan Lucas hit a two-out, two-run single off Devin Williams for a 4-1 lead in the seventh.
Judge looked grim when he walked back to the dugout after striking out in his final at-bat of the year.
His supporting cast needs a remake. New York's 4.37 bullpen ERA ranked 23rd out of 30 teams and its starting rotation, seemingly a strong suit, stumbled against the Blue Jays as Luis Gil, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón lasted a combined eight innings with a 16.88 ERA.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt and outfielder Trent Grisham can become free agents along with Williams, Luke Weaver, Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough plus pitcher Paul Blackburn, infielder Amed Rosario and outfielder Austin Slater.
Cody Bellinger is likely to turn down his $25 million player option in favor of a $5 million buyout, and the Yankees probably will decline a $5 million option on oft-injured right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga.
Gerrit Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner who underwent Tommy John surgery on March 11, expects to be back on a major league mound by May.
Fried, Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Cole and Gil would seem poised to form a powerful rotation, with Clarke Schmidt possibly returning from Tommy John surgery late in the season. But the bullpen will need a rebuild around David Bednar and Fernando Cruz.
And the bottom of the batting order is a concern — 7-8-9 batters hit just .224 with a .687 OPS. Shortstop Anthony Volpe, playing with an injured shoulder, hit .212 during the season and .192 in the playoffs with 16 strikeouts in 26 at-bats.
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