He’s finally back. After missing two weeks, playing six innings, and going back on the injured list for three more weeks, Aaron Judge was activated from the IL once again today. Judge will be batting second and playing right field against the Toronto Blue Jays. Hopefully, this time he’s back for good. (Pro tip: save your “he’ll be hurt by tomorrow” jokes).
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees reinstated OF Aaron Judge (#99) from the 10-day injured list.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 16, 2020
It was really now or never for Judge, as the New York Yankees have only 12 games remaining on their schedule. Last season, we saw Gary Sanchez and Edwin Encarnacion come off the IL and get little or no game action before the playoffs. They both struggled mightily in October. However, Judge has been in a similar situation before. He appeared in just thirteen games in September of 2018 after a broken wrist kept him out for over two months. Judge looked more than fine that postseason, going 8-for-19 with three homers in five games.
October 3, 2018
Aaron Judge crushes a first inning home run in the AL Wild Card Game pic.twitter.com/drY9rfrTQe— NY Yankees Throwbacks (@yankeethrowback) July 13, 2020
Judge means a lot of things to this team. He’s not only the best hitter in the lineup but a leader in the clubhouse. He leaves a large void whenever he’s hurt, and it’s not just because he’s 6’7″. With the way he started 2020, it looked like Judge was going into full-on revenge tour mode. Unfortunately, injuries derailed him the same way they did in the previous two regular seasons. But he has a chance to make that all go away right now.
As “The Boss” George Steinbrenner once famously said, “we need a Mr. October, not a Mr. May.” Yankee legends are made in the postseason. Let’s see what this team is made of.
Great to have you back, #99.
