The Yankees host a winner take all Wild Card game against the Athletics on Wednesday. These five guys are feeling the most pressure.
October has arrived and it’s time for the Yankees to make a serious postseason run. In order to do that, they’ll need to dispatch the Athletics in Wednesday night’s Wild Card game. That has a lot of members in the organization feeling the heat.
Of course, not everyone is feeling the same level of stress. Certain members of the organization are under the microscope more than others.
In this piece, we’ll take advantage of the five Yankees who will be feeling the most stress when Oakland comes to town. Each star will need to carry their weight to get the Yankees to Boston.
5. Aaron Judge
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that the Yankees’ best hitter is going to feel some playoff pressure. With all due respect to everyone else in the New York lineup, Judge is the guy who allows everyone else to slide into their natural place.
The team managed to keep things afloat during his injury absence, but if the Yankees are going to make noise in October it’s going to require a big time performance from Judge. He can’t afford to be ordinary, or even above-average. Instead, he needs to be great if he wants to continue to be considered the team’s best player.
Ironically, the key for Judge will be making sure he doesn’t press too hard. If he tries to be a transcendent star he’s going to get in serious trouble. The key for Judge will be to approach the Wild Card game the same way he approached every regular season game. If he does that, he should produce quality at bats for his club. Quality at bats for Judge have a terrific habit of leading to runs for the Yankees offense.