Aaron Judge was supposed to be part of the Yankees’ Tuesday-night spotlight, and somehow he ended up missing from it.
While Yankee Stadium buzzed through player introductions before Game 1 against the Red Sox, Judge wasn’t among the names announced by PA announcer Paul Ogden. The non-starters, injured players and taxi squad were called out in numerical order, which meant Trent Grisham came first at No. 12, followed by Jazz Chisholm at No.
- Judge, wearing No. 99, would have been the last one introduced.
Instead, he was nowhere to be found.
One Yankees player told NJ.com after the game that he didn’t realize Judge was absent.
The scene only added to the night’s odd little mystery, especially with Giancarlo Stanton getting a loud cheer when he emerged from the first-base dugout and jogged to the foul line. Judge did join his teammates in the dugout for the game, wearing a hoodie on a chilly fall night and watching from the rail. After the Yankees’ 9-0 Game 1 rout, he was back on the field, shaking hands and smiling with teammates.
The reason for his absence during introductions wasn’t explained. What is clear is that the Yankees are still being cautious with his strained right calf. Judge has made progress over the last week, but the club still kept him off the 26-man roster.
He didn’t do enough in Monday’s live batting practice to change that. Judge failed to drive a ball out of the infield in four live BP at-bats, and he still hasn’t been cleared to run the bases.
“I wanted to see what he had,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I was encouraged by what I saw, encouraged the fact that he’s back and doing those kind of things and checked the necessary boxes he needed to with the trainers and the strength and conditioning to be in a position to do that.”
The Yankees may need to wait a little longer, depending on how the next few days play out. If they finish off the Red Sox in Game 2 on Wednesday or Game 3 on Thursday, Judge would likely push harder to get back for the next round.
If New York advances, it would move into a best-of-five AL Division Series against the Rays, with Game 1 set for Saturday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
For now, the Yankees still don’t have a firm read on whether Judge will be ready.
“Hopefully, these next several days for him are beneficial and he continues to move the needle,” Boone said.
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