Aaron Judge stirs up bizarre Yankees beat writer drama after MVP win

Thursday night should've been a joyous occasion for New York Yankees fans. Aaron Judge, the Yankees' team captain, was set to be coronated as a two-time MVP, putting his 2017 snub further into the rearview. His 10.8 bWAR (a career high) and 58 home runs made him a shoo-in, with all apologies to Bobby Witt Jr., a strong candidate in any other year.

Unfortunately, Judge's performance in the 2024 postseason, capped by his World Series Game 5 error that helped knock the universe off course, left a sour taste in the mouths of everyone besides his most fervent supporters.

Adding to the unease, Judge's partner in crime, Juan Soto, remains unsigned, with his future hanging in the balance. Hal Steinbrenner intends to compete financially with Steve Cohen, but no one knows whether that will be enough.

Judge used his time on air during the ceremony to praise Soto, the AL's third-place MVP finisher. Neither Witt Jr. nor Soto Zoomed in, but Judge brought up how "his buddy Juan" was always on base in all his personal highlights, centering his brief appearance on his partner in crime.

If you were hoping for Judge to address things further in the MVP winner's traditional media availability after the honor was bestowed upon him, though, we have bad news: he ducked it, leaving the Yankees' beat writers scrambling for an explanation.

Yankees MVP Aaron Judge declines to talk with reporters after award win

And, as Kirschner noted in a response to his initial tweet positing that Judge probably didn't want to discuss Soto's free agency or the disastrous fifth inning of Game 5, "He's getting the questions regardless if it's tonight or the next time he speaks. Doesn't matter."

This is New York. Can't hide forever. Unless you know Soto's decision is coming soon and you think you can hide until then...

...of course, it turned out that was not Judge's intention, as he spoke the very next day, noting that he was in the midst of giving Soto space during free agency. No updates.

Going to the World Series felt like a momentous accomplishment for this Yankees team not one month ago, yet somehow their current standing in the game feels lower than when October began. Just one drama-free winter. All we ask.

If you prefer to close-read Judge's words live on air, be our guest. They were certainly encouraging before everything spun off.

If you have any additional questions, though, you can submit them to Judge's complaint department. It's a trash can!

Or is that Jose Altuve's inbox? Either way, the Yankees had better hope for a bit of positive PR soon, because somehow even a runaway MVP victory didn't deliver it, after a Rookie of the Year win for Luis Gil was paired with Soto's questions about the player development system earlier in the week.