Yankees playoffs: The baby bombers are serving notice in the ALDS

Beyond the Numbers

Yankees fans have a right to be a bit ambivalent about Aaron Judge in the ALDS. The biggest of baseball’s big men is batting just .067/.263/.133 with only one hit, albeit a double. He’s only scored once but has accounted for two of the Yankees RBIs.

But his performance to-date proves that baseball is a game that must be seen and not just read about in the stat sheets. Judge has a special baseball quality about him; several of these young Yankees do. He has impacted the game on the field far beyond his numbers, and, my guess is, in the locker room, as well.

His double in Game 4 was not the biggest hit of the game, but it felt like it affected the game the most. The impartial announcers certainly saw it that way, and so, seemingly, did the Yankees. And that, perhaps, because it turned the Yankees offense outburst from a molehill to a mountain.

Or it might be because his teammates know that when Judge starts making contact, good things are about to happen.

But his most important contribution is the catch he made in game three. Poised and perfectly placed, Aaron made a series-saving catch for the ages. Almost as important, he did so like he was catching a routine fly ball in the middle of June.

Of course, a little perspective will help Yankees universe appreciate the rest of Aaron’s underwhelming accomplishments.