Aaron Judge has never been closer to getting his first World Series ring.
All that stands between the Yankees and their elusive 28th title is the Dodgers — and Shohei Ohtani — as baseball’s two brightest stars are finally headed to the Fall Classic.
“We’ve had our battles throughout the regular season over the years when he was with the Angels, playing back and forth, seeing him hit homers over my head and having some good series,’’ Judge said Tuesday of facing Ohtani. “But getting a chance to play him on the biggest stage in the biggest moment, I think that’s going to be pretty cool to watch.’’
Judge went on to call Ohtani “the best player in the game,” a title that will likely be put to the test over the next week.
But when the World Series ends, the title will go to either the Yankees or the Dodgers — and not Judge or Ohtani.
And Judge has been around Yankee Stadium long enough to know the history surrounding the franchise.
On more than one occasion this postseason, he’s talked about the “ghosts” of the old Stadium playing a role in these playoffs. Coming off one of the greatest individual seasons in franchise history — or any franchise for that matter — Judge and the Yankees still have more work to do.
“The journey is always a tough one, but that’s the fun in all this,’’ Judge said before the Yankees worked out at the Stadium in advance of their first World Series appearance since 2009. “There were good times and bad times, but getting to this point, this is where the real fun starts. For years, as a kid, I’d watch the Yankees play and win the World Series. That excitement, the emotion, the city comes alive. It’s special. I look forward to doing that with this group.”
For all the Yankees’ star power, the spotlight will be brightest on Judge, in the second year of his nine-year, $360 million contract after being drafted by the organization in 2013.
He’s become the face of the franchise, but is in the midst of another shaky postseason at the plate, having gone just 5-for-31 with three extra-base hits, seven walks, 13 strikeouts and a .704 OPS through nine games.
As Judge has proven over the course of his career, he’s capable of going on a hot streak like virtually no other player in the sport. The World Series would be a good time for that to happen.
He talked about what it’s like to be around former players who have won titles in The Bronx.
“They’ve got a different aura, walking around and you’ve got a couple of rings on your fingers,’’ Judge said. “The biggest thing is they’re battle-tested. They’ve been through the grind, the ups and downs and came out on top.”
Already, this Yankee team can say that about themselves — at least to a certain extent.
After coming out of the gates hot, with the best record in the sport in the middle of June (50-22 on June 15) and then a mostly ugly remainder of the regular season (44-46), the Yankees turned things around in October, helped no doubt by facing weak AL Central foes in Kansas City and Cleveland.
“Our confidence never changed,’’ Judge said. “The outside noise had a narrative based on how the games were going, but everyone in the room never faltered. We knew what we were capable of.”
They held off Baltimore to win the division and avoid the wild-card round.
“For us, nothing really changed,’’ Judge said. “We had to answer some tough questions and definitely had to make some adjustments at times. But it’s a confident group. Getting knocked down a couple times throughout the season built family unity.”