Aaron Judge’s history-making regular season wasn’t enough to shield him from the displeasure of angry New York Yankees fans in the playoffs.
Judge struck out his first four times at the plate Friday en route to going 0-for-5 in the Yankees’ 4-2, 10-inning loss to the visiting Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.
Fresh off his 62-home run season that set a new American League record, Judge is now 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts to begin the postseason. Some fans booed Judge as his strikeout streak continued during Friday’s game.
Judge said he was “not at all” surprised that fans were upset with him and put the onus upon himself to turn his performances around.
“I’ve got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. Didn’t do the job tonight. Especially as the leadoff hitter, man, I’ve got to get on base and I’ve got to make something happen on the base path. I didn’t do that tonight.”
Manager Aaron Boone, a Yankees folk hero familiar with the demands of playing for the franchise, was not taken aback by the booing, either.
“It’s the Bronx, man,” Boone said.
“Great hitters go 0-for on a given day. You know, great hitters fail more often than they succeed, even when you’re rolling. You know, they neutralized him here the first two days, pitched him really tough. But he’ll get back on the horse and be as dangerous as they come tomorrow night.”
The series shifts to Cleveland Saturday and Sunday for Games 3 and 4. If necessary, a Game 5 would be played in New York on Monday.
–Field Level Media