HE’LL PUT A HURT ON ’EM
Aaron: I’ll be ready at start
TAMPA — Aaron Judge is on track to play on Opening Day.
Judge underwent offseason surgery on his left shoulder, which he finally admitted began to bother him around the AllStar break.
“It feels good,” Judge said Wednesday. “I feel we’re right on schedule with the progression we set out after the surgery. The games that matter are in April, so if I miss a couple games — which I will probably early in the spring — it’s better to miss those games than to miss games started at the end of March or early April. We’re on the right track.”
The 25-year-old is coming off a historic season for the Yankees in which he hit 52 homers en route to capturing the AL Rookie of the Year award and finishing runnerup to Jose Altuve in the AL MVP race.
Judge hit .329 with 30 homers and 66 RBI heading into the AllStar break. But he struggled afterward — following his victory in the Home Run Derby — hitting .179 with seven homers and 16 RBI from July 14-Aug. 31. He ultimately turned things around in September, hitting .311 with 15 homers and 32 RBI.
“I kind of felt it around the AllStar break, but it’s tough to really pinpoint when because I was crashing into walls and taking a lot of swings,” said Judge.
Judge had said that a cortisone shot was a possibility to ease the pain, but he says he never received one, instead treating it with ultrasound and stimulation. Ultimately, Judge says he learned to play with the injury.
“I thought it’d be best to (have surgery) in the offseason,” Judge said. “Where we were in the season, we were fighting around first place in our division, for that playoff spot. I wanted to be out there for the team. I was able to play. I’m going to go out and play. It’s something I could handle in the offseason and I felt like the offseason we’ve got a couple of months to rehab some stuff or do surgery. It was the best thing for me and the team.”
He doesn’t plan to stop being aggressive in 2018, though.
“I never want to play timid or scared, especially when my pitcher and my teammates are giving 100 percent,” Judge said. “I want to make sure I’m giving 100 percent so if that’s running into walls or running into the stands I’m still going to do that. I don’t want to run into the wall, but if I have to make a play for my team, I’m going to run through a wall for them.”
During the offseason, Brian Cashman called Judge about the possibility of acquiring reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins. Judge’s answer: “Go get him.”
“He was just kind of asking me about how I would feel about more DH days and maybe the possibility of getting some reps in left,” said Judge, who played center and left at Fresno St. and only started playing right in the pros. “I said, whatever the team needs me to do. We’re in here to win it.”
Asked about Stanton, Judge said, “He’s ready for New York. He’s ready to be here. He’s going to fit right in on this team. It’s going to be a fun thing we’ve got here.”
As for being part of the Evil Empire again, Judge said, “We’re going to have to embrace it, but stick to our game. Last year coming into camp expectations were we were going to be one of the bottom teams in the AL East but we surprised some people. Now, we’re not going to sneak up on anybody this year so for us it’s just about playing our game, sticking to what we do well and improving off of that.”