Is it too soon for Yankees fans to panic about Aaron Judge’s health?

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has picked up yet another injury.

Once Derek Jeter retired in 2014, New York Yankees fans wondered who would step up as the team’s captain and face of the franchise. That replacement came a little less than two years later in the form of top outfield prospect Aaron Judge.

The gigantic athlete won fans over in his limited stint, but really broke out in his first full season in 2017, where he arguably should’ve won the AL MVP over Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros. The future looked bright for Judge, but he has been hampered with injuries since.

On Monday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Judge would sit out a scheduled intrasquad game so he can get treatment for a stiff neck. Of course, Yankees fans began panicking, as they always do. But is this really the injury to be fretting over?

Aaron Judge’s lengthy injury history

Let’s go back to the 2017 MLB season. Judge had a downright historic season, as he set the rookie home run record and led the team one game shy of the World Series.

After the campaign, it was revealed Judge dealt with a shoulder injury since the start of the season and had to undergo arthroscopic surgeryn. Evidence of an injury became apparent after his second-half stint after winning the Home Run Derby, where he batted .228.

Nonetheless, Judge was ready to go for the start of the 2018 campaign.  During a July game against the Kansas City Royals, however, Judge was hit on the right wrist by a Jakob Junis pitch. It was revealed that he suffered a chip fracture, which effectively knocked him out for nearly two months.

Last season, the outfielder once again had bad luck against the Royals. After hitting a single, Judge departed with an oblique injury, which again kept him sidelined for two months. That news really caused Yankee fans to worry, but that can be attributed to the entire Yankees’ starting lineup hitting the injured list prior to that game.

Earlier this year, there were high hopes entering spring training, but the fans fell back down to Earth after discovering Judge had suffered a stress fracture in his rib. The pause of the 2020 season turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Judge, as he fully recovered from the ailment by the start of summer camp this month.

But now, Judge is dealing with a stiff neck, which isn’t the end of the world. Yet Yankees fans sure are acting that way.

Yankee fans are treating Judge’s health the same way they treated Carl Pavano and Jacoby Ellsbury. But those two players picked up much more serious injuries at a more frequent rate. Judge’s injuries never had long term effects on his play. This guy can still mash a baseball out of a ballpark and he can throw out baserunners with his rocket arm, regardless of the injuries he picked up over the past few years.

Yankees fans, we implore you to calm down and take a deep breath. Judge is going to be just fine. A stiff neck isn’t the end of the man’s career.