Boston writer presses Yankees’ Aaron Judge on signing with Red Sox

Forget the green walls and the flying banners. No tradition is more Bostonian than making yourself the center of the baseball universe.

One Boston Red Sox writer beautifully lived up to his city’s legacy in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Yankees-Sox clash at Fenway Park, which ended with an overwhelmingly dramatic final strike from Wandy Peralta to Rafael Devers after two homers by Aaron Judge.

But that’s not what Mass Live Sports’ man on the scene wanted to talk about when the game wrapped. Instead, he wanted to press Judge on his forthcoming free agency, bringing a city that’s likely only in the back of the slugger’s mind suddenly to the forefront.

Would Judge consider signing with the Red Sox this offseason, Boston wondered, in the wake of him going yard off both Nick Pivetta and Garrett Whitlock, then watching Jeurys Familia fritter away the game for an under-.500 BoSox team?

While the answer was obviously yes — who wouldn’t want to commit to a 69-73 team with a recent history of trading away its best homegrown players? — Judge scoffed and shrugged off the advances.

Would Yankees’ Aaron Judge sign with Red Sox? Thanks for asking!

This isn’t the first time a Judge-Red Sox connection has been broached; ESPN’s Buster Olney did make the connection earlier this summer, but his case was flimsy at best. Sox owner John Henry has created unrest in Boston by trading Mookie Betts and failing to lock up Rafael Devers, Olney preached. Perhaps he’d try to turn things around by getting Judge to turncoat?

Eh. Maybe he’ll just extend Devers, a much more realistic path to goodwill. Or maybe he’ll give every Sox season ticket holder a Liverpool sweater!

As Judge approaches Roger Maris’ American League home run record (and, some would say, the legitimate mark), there are possibly 10,000 questions you could ask him face-to-face that would be more interesting than, “Hey … how ’bout those Red Sox, huh?”

Judge is a “Yankee for Life,” as long as Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner treat him fairly. But even if they do not — and they might not — logic dictates he’s far more likely to defect to California, where “family is important” (and currently located). The San Francisco Giants are the clear front-runner for Judge’s services in the event he leaves New York, with the financial windfall necessary to get a deal done and the on-field need for a star presence.

Should Yankees fans be worried about that scenario? Absolutely. One or two false moves, and the door is wide open.

How did the Red Sox become a part of this narrative? They didn’t. But every good Bostonian wants to feel like they’re the only real stewards of the game of baseball, and that no MLB star’s career truly begins until he’s experienced playing 81 home games in a magic bandbox, where Paul Revere once got stuck in an obstructed view seat, mounting his horse while muttering, “F*** this.”

Maybe after Wednesday’s game, the same writers will put their Kermit puppets away long enough to ask Gerrit Cole if he’d ever consider forcing a trade to play for Alex Cora.

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