The New York Yankees entered the month of September knowing that the next two weeks could define their season. With a rugged upcoming schedule, including series against the Astros, Blue Jays, Tigers and Red Sox, and precious little margin for error in the AL Wild Card standings, any slip-up could cost New York dearly — and send them spiraling toward an offseason full of tough questions.
Luckily, Aaron Judge picked a very good time to put the team on his back.
Aaron Judge takes Garrett Crochet deep for home run No. 48 and it's a 6-3 game! pic.twitter.com/OTrIR7q12m
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 15, 2025
Judge had been scuffling a bit (well, by his ridiculous standards) in the month of August, clearly out of rhythm after missing time due to a flexor tendon injury in his throwing elbow. Lately, though, he's caught fire: His homer in Sunday's loss to Boston was his fifth in his last seven games, and he's slashing a downright absurd .362/.519/.793 since Aug. 27. Not coincidentally, the Yankees went 7-5 in their season-defining stretch, maintaining control of the first Wild Card spot and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Judge appears to be locking in at exactly the right time. And while most in baseball are (understandably) sick of talking about him, he's offered yet another reminder of just how great he is — and how little it will matter if he doesn't do it when it counts.
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Aaron Judge's recent tear has put the AL MVP race to bed
Back when Judge was on the shelf and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was launching balls into low orbit on a seemingly nightly basis, plenty of fans were wondering whether the AL MVP race had shifted. A few weeks later, though, it sure seems like Judge has put things to bed: While he's been on a tear, Raleigh has fallen back to Earth a bit, slashing .218/.328/.480 in the second half — still very good, especially for a catcher, but far closer to his career baseline.
The result? Suddenly, a race that was neck-and-neck seems more or less decided. Judge has opened up an 8.7-8.0 lead over Raleigh in fWAR, his overwhelming offensive advantage (199 wRC+ vs. 157) simply too great for Raleigh's extra defensive value to make up. We haven't seen anyone put up an OPS+ of 200 or better since Barry Bonds in the early 00s; Judge is on pace to do it for the third time in four years. He's simply the best hitter in baseball right now, and the most important player on a postseason hopeful. That's an awfully difficult combination to beat, and Raleigh has fallen just short of the necessary bar.
But of course, if you're reading this, you likely already know that what Judge does in September ultimately doesn't matter. Even a third AL MVP Award won't do much to alter his legacy on its own. If he wants to be truly remembered, the way that the game's inner-circle greats are, there's only one thing left to do: Keep this hot streak going into October.
Is this finally the year Aaron Judge puts his playoff demons to bed?
Whether this recent heater actually means anything come playoff time remains to be seen. Judge has had awesome closing stretches before only to disappear when the lights were brightest.
And yes, Yankees fans, this is a thing. We can swear that it's not until we're blue in the face, and we can continue to believe that Judge is simply too great to not have at least one career-defining playoff run. But the fact remains that No. 99 hasn't been good enough in the playoffs; his approach at the plate changes, and while there have been some great swings and memorable moments, they've been far too few and far between for where this team ultimately wants to go.
Will that change in 2025? Judge sure seems locked in right now: He's no longer caught in between fastballs and breaking balls the way he was a few weeks ago, and he's once again displaying a superb command of the strike zone that forces pitchers to make mistakes — mistakes he damages more consistently than anyone. All signs are pointing to big numbers moving forward.
But again, we've said that before. It's also possible that Judge closes the year on a tear only to undo all of that good work by pressing in October, the way he did just last season. Which way this goes might wind up deciding who wins it all in a season that's been as wide-open as any in recent memory.