June 3, 2023, Dodger Stadium. Aaron Judge sprinted to the right-field wall, leaped, and made one of those catches that makes you jump off the couch. Highlight-reel defense. SportsCenter top play. The kind of moment that reminds you why you watch baseball. Then he came down, and his right big toe hit the wall, and the torn ligament that resulted cost him 42 games and cost the Yankees their entire season. Before the catch, New York was 35-25 and in first place in the AL East. By the time Judge returned in late July, the team was in last place. One play. One toe. One complete organizational collapse.
The Before
The 2023 Yankees were supposed to be dominant. PECOTA had them at 99 wins -- the highest projection in baseball. Judge was coming off a 62-home run season and had signed a nine-year, $360 million contract. Gerrit Cole was pitching at a Cy Young level. Carlos Rodon had been added for $162 million to create a 1-2 punch. The offense was loaded. The pitching looked deep. Everything pointed up.
Through early June, the projection looked accurate. A 35-25 record. First place in the AL East. Judge was crushing the ball again -- on pace for another 50-homer season. The machine was running smoothly.
Then he made the catch, and everything stopped.
The Injury
The torn ligament in Judge's right big toe wasn't the kind of injury that makes headlines in a normal context. It wasn't a torn ACL or a broken bone. It was a toe. But for a 6-foot-7, 282-pound man who generates power from the ground up, a compromised big toe changes everything. The push-off, the balance, the ability to drive the ball -- it all starts with the feet.
The Yankees placed him on the injured list. No surgery required, thankfully, but the recovery timeline stretched to six weeks. Judge missed 42 games. During those 42 games, the Yankees' season disintegrated.
The Collapse Without Judge
The numbers tell the story with brutal clarity. When Judge got hurt on June 3, the Yankees were 35-25 -- ten games above .500, leading the division. From that point on, the team went 47-55 the rest of the way. The offense, already too dependent on Judge's bat, fell apart. The team batting average dropped to .227 (14th in the AL). The OBP sank to .304. The slugging fell to .397. Without Judge in the lineup, opposing pitchers could navigate around the rest of the order without fear.
The injury cascade made everything worse. Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, Nestor Cortes, and Carlos Rodon all dealt with their own health issues. The roster that was built to compete for a championship was suddenly relying on replacement-level players. (You can survive losing your best player if you have depth. The 2023 Yankees didn't have depth. They had Judge, Cole, and hope.)
The Return to Last Place
Judge came back in late July to find a fundamentally different team. The confidence was gone. The clubhouse energy had shifted from "we're contenders" to "we're surviving." The Orioles had seized the AL East and weren't giving it back. The nine-game losing streak in August buried whatever remained of the playoff chances.
Even Judge's return couldn't change the trajectory. He hit 37 home runs in 130 games -- extrapolated over a full 162-game season, that's roughly 46 home runs, which would've been the second-best total in the American League. It wasn't enough to factor into the MVP race -- Shohei Ohtani ran away with his second career unanimous award -- but the pace was proof his talent hadn't gone anywhere. Just his team's fortunes.
(Being the best player on an 82-80 team is baseball's version of being the world's best swimmer on a sinking ship. Doesn't matter how fast you go. The boat's still going down.)
| Injury Date | June 3, 2023 (Dodger Stadium) |
| Diagnosis | Torn ligament, right big toe |
| Games Missed | 42 |
| Record When Hurt | 35-25 (1st place, AL East) |
| Record During Absence | Yankees fell to last place |
| Final 2023 Stats | 37 HR in 130 games |
| Full-Season Pace | ~46 HR over 162 games |
| 2023 AL MVP | Not a finalist -- Ohtani won unanimously |
The What-If
The unavoidable question: what if Judge doesn't make that catch? What if he lets the ball hit the wall, plays it off the carom, and stays healthy? The Yankees were on pace for a 95-win season when he went down. With a healthy Judge in the lineup for the full year, they almost certainly make the playoffs. Would they have won the World Series? Impossible to say. But they'd have had a chance, which is more than the 82-80 final record gave them.
The catch itself was the kind of play that defines Judge as a player -- all-out effort, no regard for personal risk, the desire to make the extraordinary play because that's what he does. You can't tell a player like Judge to pull up and play it safe. The instinct to make the catch is the same instinct that makes him a generational talent. (You take the brilliance and the risk together. That's the deal.)
The June 3 injury sits alongside Jeter's 2012 ankle fracture in the category of single moments that altered entire Yankees seasons. One play. One injury. Everything changes.
Judge's First IL Stint
Aaron Judge suffers a mild hip strain against the Twins. He's placed on the 10-day IL and returns May 9.
The Catch and the Injury
Judge crashes into the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium making a spectacular catch. He tears a ligament in his right big toe and is placed on the IL for 42 games.
The Team Collapses
Without Judge, the Yankees fall from first place to last in the AL East. The roster's lack of depth is completely exposed.
Judge Returns
Judge comes back to a team in last place. He resumes hitting at an elite level but can't reverse the organizational collapse alone.
Ohtani Runs Away With the Award
Shohei Ohtani wins his second career unanimous AL MVP (his first came in 2021; Judge won in 2022). Judge, limited to 130 games by the toe injury, doesn't factor into the vote -- a quiet end to a season that started with 99-win expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Aaron Judge get hurt in 2023?
Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3, 2023, at Dodger Stadium when he crashed into the right-field wall while making a spectacular catch. He missed 42 games. No surgery was required, but the injury coincided with the team's collapse from first place to last in the AL East.
Did Aaron Judge win MVP in 2023?
No. Shohei Ohtani won the 2023 AL MVP unanimously, his second career MVP (his first came in 2021; Judge won it in 2022, so Ohtani's wasn't consecutive). Judge, limited to 130 games by a hip strain and a torn toe ligament, wasn't among the vote's top finishers despite hitting 37 home runs. His next MVP came in 2024, also unanimous.
What was the Yankees' record before and after Judge's injury?
Before Judge's June 3 injury, the Yankees were 35-25 and in first place in the AL East. After the injury, the team went 47-55 the rest of the season, finishing 82-80 in fourth place, 19 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.