"Yankees wouldn't be here without Aaron Judge" - Former coach defends team captain amid World Series struggles

When the Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a record-shattering nine-year deal worth $360 million in 2022, it did not just make the slugger the highest-paid position player ever. The deal was also taken as an implicit expectation that Judge would carry his club to victory in the World Series.

However, after three World Series games in 2024, Yankees fans are wondering whether they would be better off without their captain. Through three games, Judge is 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts. For a man who hit 58 home runs during the regular season, the cold snap is alarming at best.

"Aaron Judge's batting average in the World Series has dropped to .091" - FOX Sports: MLB

Although there has been no shortage of anxiety for New York Yankees fans, at least one individual still believes in Judge's capabilities. On a recent appearance on his podcast The Mayor's Office, former Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey weighed in on the Aaron Judge situation, and revealed that he still believes Judge is the man for the job:

"He had one of the greatest seasons of all time. Just because he didn't have a good postseason or World Series doesn't mean the season is a waste... they wouldn't be here without him."

Casey played in MLB for twelve seasons, but his only World Series appearance came in 2006, when his Detroit Tigers were beaten by the Cardinals. Despite not winning the World Series, Casey shared that he was honored to have had the chance to play, and does not see his career as a "waste" because he never won a World Series. Casey, 50, knows Judge from his time as the Yankees' hitting coach in 2023.

Aaron Judge provides simple reflection on his struggles

With the Los Angeles Dodgers now a single win away from snatching the 2024 World Series, Judge knows as well as any of his teammates how high the stakes are. After going 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Game 3, Judge told SI:

"You want to be getting the hits. You want to be doing your job, but I'm not doing my job right now, I've got to pick it up."

The single-season MLB home run champ who has led the league in homers for two of the last three seasons, Judge has nearly done it all. However, if the big man's struggles come to define his team's World Series loss, then subsequent regular season success could feel overshadowed by the elephant in the room.