This postseason is Aaron Judge’s best chance to cement his Yankees legacy

Aaron Judge has been incredible since he debuted in 2017. Judge has been the best player for the New York Yankees over his entire career and it really hasn't been close.

But Judge has never made a World Series. He's never had an incredible postseason run. It's hard to call Judge a winner at this point in his career.

Everything looks different in 2024 though. Judge is the best player in baseball right now and his season is one of the best single years since Barry Bonds. Judge is slashing .325/.461/.708 with an incredible 58 home runs and 144 RBIs.

But Yankees legends aren't made in April, May or June. Yankees legends are made in October. Judge has been one of, if not the single best regular season performer of this generation. He has a chance to cement himself as a Yankees legend this postseason.

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2024 postseason is Aaron Judge's chance to cement his Yankees legacy

The 2024 postseason is incredibly important for the Yankees for a few different reasons.

Judge and ace Gerrit Cole aren't getting any younger. New York is paying these two superstars a good chunk of money and they're playing very well for the Yankees. But they're getting older. This production could begin to decline at any moment, as father time is undefeated.

Juan Soto is also set to enter free agency. There's a chance that this is New York's only chance to win with Soto in the Bronx. There is also some repercussions to Soto's decision based on how the Yankees finish. A World Series would be much harder for Soto to walk away from than a first round exit.

And this all comes back on Judge, who's notorious for seeing his play decline in the postseason.

Across 44 postseason games and nearly 200 plate appearances, Judge is slashing .211/.310/.462 with 13 home runs and 66 strikeouts. The power is still there when Judge is putting the ball in play, but he's often seen chasing pitches out of the zone and doing relatively little damage.

But with the way that Judge is swinging the bat right now, all he has to do is ride the wave into the postseason and he will be perfectly fine. He's partially protected by Soto in the lineup, but teams will continue to be selective on if and when they pitch to him.

Either way, a big performance and an AL Pennant or World Series championship would cement Judge among the best Yankees legends of all time.