Judge, club will ‘let our game speak for itself ’ after disastrous 2023

TAMPA, Fla. — As the Yankees packed their bags and said goodbye to George M. Steinbrenner Field on Monday, a few players were asked why this season will be different than the team’s disastrous 2023 campaign.

“I can sit here and explain a lot of things, but it comes down to us going out there and doing it,” said Aaron Judge, whose torn toe ligament was one of several hindrances that kept the Yankees out of the playoffs last year. “I could sit here and talk about our new offense and the guys we got, the pitchers we got. But it really comes to us going out there and doing the job. We got to let our game speak for itself, and that’s what we plan on doing this year.”

Judge added that the Yankees had a “different level of focus in all aspects” this spring, and they’re looking to take that into the regular season, which starts on Thursday in Houston with a four-game series against the rival Astros. The captain added that newcomers — the group includes Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham and Marcus Stroman — have added “grit” and “edge” to the locker room.

“I think that’s what I’ve noticed so far with a lot of these guys,” Judge continued. “There’s a lot of gamers.”

Clarke Schmidt, who started the Yankees’ final Grapefruit League game on Monday, agreed with Judge’s assessment.

“There’s a really good energy right now,” he said. “Guys are very confident. Guys are healthy, relatively. And then I think it’s just a really good combination of younger guys, older guys, guys who have been there and just a really experienced clubhouse. I’d say that energy is a lot different. I mean, we’ve always been excited, but I feel like there’s some true excitement here now.”

While Schmidt said the Yankees