Yankees' Aaron Judge has plenty of admirers among 2009 World Series champions

The 2009 World Series championship Yankees know a thing or two about winning. About legacy.

All of which is why they think highly of Aaron Judge. They recognize his greatness.

“He just continues to get better and better,” Derek Jeter said after Old-Timers’ Day festivities Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. “He’s carried that legacy and tradition of the Yankee organization and superstar players, and more important than what he does on the field [is that] he’s a great representative of this organization.”

Judge was among the primary topics of conversation before and after the franchise’s honored guests were feted in an on-field ceremony.

Despite going 0-for-2 with a walk and being hit by a pitch in the Yankees’ 9-2 loss to the Rockies, Judge ranks first in Major League Baseball in home runs (49), RBIs (119), slugging percentage (.725), on-base percentage (.464), OPS (1.189) and total bases (330). He ranks second in batting average (.332) and walks (105) and is tied for third in runs scored (102).

Moreover, in his last 101 games dating to April 27, he is hitting .376 with 45 home runs, 106 RBIs and  93 runs scored.

“Look at his numbers,” Jorge Posada said. “It’s crazy what he’s doing. It really is very impressive.”

Especially when you consider that Judge's 2024 campaign is statistically better than his 2022 American League Most Valuable Player-winning season was at the same point.

Judge is hitting for a higher average (.332 to .294), owns a better on-base percentage (.464  to .398) and a better slugging percentage (.725 to .661), and has driven in six more runs (119 to 113).

Said Jeter, “I think I was here last year, we were talking about Aaron [and I said], ‘He can become a better player, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his numbers are going to [get better].’ He’s become a better player and his numbers are better.”

Judge is authoring a career that someday could be celebrated with a plaque in Cooperstown and the retirement of his No. 99  by the Yankees. But will that legacy have a World Series championship attached to it?

During Judge’s tenure with the Yankees, the team has advanced to the American League Championship Series three times, only to lose to the Astros in all three series. Judge is hitting .200 (13-for-65) with nine runs scored, nine RBIs, eight walks and four home runs in the 17 ALCS games against Houston.

But as Joe Girardi — who knows a little something about winning, what with his three World Series titles as a player and another as a manager, all with the Yankees — was quick to point out, the quality of the team around him will determine whether Judge ends his career with a ring.

“He’s going to have a legacy whether he wins or not because he’s a special player,”  Girardi said. “You would love to see it happen to such a great player that has such an impact on the game. But it takes so many more players. One guy can’t do it. Two guys can’t do it. It takes a ton and I hope it happens for him.”

Perhaps no one can  understand how a title can affect legacy better than Alex Rodriguez. Before the 2009 season, he was the target of plenty of criticism for not having won a World Series and for slumping in the postseason. On the night of Nov. 4, 2009, that critique was shelved when Rodriguez and the Yankees won the franchise’s 27th — and most recent  — championship.

“He has a unique element to him — that Derek and [Mariano Rivera] have — is that no matter how big the stage is, he keeps the main thing the main thing,” Rodriguez said. “I do think he will be a world champion because that’s all he really cares about. As good as the numbers are, Aaron Judge wants to win. So I think he will.”