YANKEE STADIUM (New York) – After the Yankees eliminated the Red Sox on Wednesday, Aaron Judge held center court in a wet and sticky Yankees clubhouse. He gave candid answers about the progress of his injury as teammates lifted his collar and poured champagne and beer down his shirt.
Catcher Austin Wells, third baseman Ryan McMahon and outfielder Trent Grisham stood on the side of the room, their feet dipped in a pool of unidentified brown alcohol, and took a selfie.
Infielder Jose Caballero ducked behind the media buzz and threatened to remove his thumb from the top of a red aluminum Budweiser bottle he had already prepared, ready to pop on an unsuspecting teammate.
At one point, the white plastic sheeting that had been hung around the club’s perimeter to protect the lockers from beer contamination began to fall off. Within seconds, the sheet punched back into the walls, the sound of the machine like a rapid string of fireworks in the backyard.
Aaron Judge (left) and Yankees assistant hitting coach Jake Hirst celebrate the Yankees’ series win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night. (Photos by Mary DeCicco/MLB via Getty Images)
The smell of musty beer wafted through the Yankees’ clubhouse and into the tunnel, where the players’ parents formed a crowd and waited patiently for their sons to finish the celebration. It was close to midnight.
By most accounts, this was an underwhelming celebration by the Yankees. And yet, the relief in the room was palpable. It was the culmination of weeks and months of grit and resilience, a true celebration of how hard the Yankees worked to rise above their season-long challenges and win, convincingly, the first round of their playoff odyssey.
The Yankees put away the Red Sox after a 9-2 victory on a great Wednesday night in the Bronx. New York advanced to the American League Division Series, where they host the division rival Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
The Rays were the best team in the AL this year. The Yankees were the most battle-tested.
During the regular season, New York faced the prospect of winning without a referee as early as May. That was on top of Giancarlo Stanton missing almost the entire season with a calf strain.
Later in the summer, Cody Bellinger missed a month with a hamstring strain. Lefties Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers, infielder Jazz Chisholm, Grisham, Wells and McMahon all spent time on the injured list. The Yankees suffered enough injuries to break any team.
And yet, each time they rose above him.
“We’re never out of a ballgame,” Judge told me recently at Yankee Stadium. “We were missing Stanton, we were missing Bell for a while, we were missing me, kind of the heart of the order. We played in a couple of games where we were down a couple of runs, the team came together and all of a sudden we’re up, right back in the game.
“Just the attitude of not giving up, that was the nicest thing I saw this season. This is postseason baseball and we’ve been doing it all year.”
On Tuesday in the Bronx before Game 1 against Boston, Judge didn’t join his teammates for pregame introductions before the Yankees beat the Red Sox in a 9-0 laugher. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the skipper was being treated for a strained calf as the team took the field.
At the time, everyone wondered if the Bombers would cope without him. Of course, they weren’t outscoring Boston 18-2 in a two-game sweep. These were not lucky victories; they were dominant.
Aaron Judge (left) celebrates the Yankees’ Game 1 win over the Red Sox with catcher Austin Wells. (Photos by Mary DeCicco/MLB via Getty Images)
Beginning Saturday at Tropicana Field, the Yankees face their toughest challenge of the season. Again, they could be without their best player against a Rays team that never faded and isn’t showing any flaws. Additionally, Tampa Bay went 55-26 at home this season, the best home winning percentage (.679) in the major leagues.
But here’s why the Yankees needn’t worry: They’ve learned to live without Judge all year.
“The pitching has been crazy,” Yankees ace Cam Schlittler told me after Game 2 against Boston. “We’ve had a lot to deal with. A lot of guys out. We’ve still got the best player in baseball right now.
Judge was limited to just 66 games this season after nursing a broken rib and a strained calf. Throughout his absence during the season, the Yankees stopped waiting for one man to carry the offense. They became a tough, battle-tested unit that never counted themselves out, knowing they would need their elite starting rotation, solid lineup, plus their bench and role players to scratch and claw their way to victories.
The combination of Schlittler, Fried, Gerrit Cole, Rodon and Weathers helped the Yankees finish the season with the best starting ERA (3.30) in the majors. It’s a ridiculous starting staff that can beat anyone in a short series, and the pitching is the main reason the Yankees shouldn’t feel threatened by the Rays.
Then, there are the offensive weapons.
First baseman Ben Rice stepped up and had an MVP-caliber year, slugging 41 home runs in the regular season, tied for sixth most in MLB. Trade deadline pickup Luis Garcia Jr. had his share of key moments since joining the Yankees in August, none louder than his solo shot against Sonny Gray that put the Yankees on the board in Wednesday’s win.
A pair of starters – infielder George Lombard Jr. and outfielder Spencer Jones – have added a youthful hunger to a strong roster mix of veterans and key players in their prime.
“We’re resilient. That’s what this season has been built on,” Rice told me. “We’ve had some tough moments, some tough stretches, and some rebounds don’t go our way. But we’ve got to stick with it.”
Ben Rice was the star of the Yankees’ Game 1 win over the Red Sox, going 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBI. (Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images)
At no time was this year easy for New York. When Judge returned from his broken rib in early September, there was legitimate belief that the Yankees could catch the Rays and take the division.
Instead, Judge played just seven games before going on the injured list again, this time with a calf strain. Soon, the Yankees’ division title hopes faded, replaced by the pressure of a wild card against their division rivals.
Everything was set up for the Yankees to collapse. Instead, they responded.
“We faced the reality of some of those challenges early on,” Cole told me. “It’s given people opportunities that they might not have had otherwise, and they’ve taken advantage of them. As a group, we’ve made it our goal to not have a type of game decline and always pursue the best versions of ourselves and the purest brand of baseball that we can play, no matter who we have on the field.”
Gerrit Cole may get the nod in Game 1 against the Rays for the Yankees. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)
The work is not over. Beating an 87-win Boston team is not the same as beating the 98-win Rays. Tampa Bay consistently picked up key wins when they needed to and kept the Yankees at bay throughout the stretch. It will be scary for New York to play on artificial turf at Tropicana Field; The Yankees went 2-7 there this season.
However, the Yankees have developed the right habits to beat anyone. They don’t need to be the best team on paper. They need to win a short series, and this has always been more about great shots, timed shots, confidence and nerve. Of course, all the extra depth on their bench helps, too.
“This team has been resilient, I think they’ve put up a really good fight against them,” Boone said. “We’ve been through a lot this season — not just Aaron, but a lot of different challenges that we’ve faced, injuries that we’ve faced. And these guys have never wavered and found ways to win a lot of games. And that’s a credit to who they are and the makeup of the team.”
Meanwhile, Judge is doing everything he can to convince the Yankees that he’s ready to play and make the ALDS roster. As of now, his status remains unclear.
But that’s a good thing for these brave Yankees. If Judge returns, the Yankees add a generational hitter to a team that already knows how to win. If he doesn’t, they’ve shown they can still win without him. Plus, it will likely take a while for Judge to get his feet wet, get his timing right and find his groove.
That’s why the mindset of the future Yankees is crucial. Their World Series dreams don’t depend on Judge. Whether or not No. 99 is in line for introductions on Saturday, the team around him has earned the right to be taken seriously.
The Yankees won big when they were supposed to be down. If, in the end, they are hoisting a championship trophy for the first time in 17 years, it will be a credit to their steadfast refusal to quit and an elite starting rotation that is the envy of the world.
