“Viewed Ourselves As A Championship Club”- Despite His ‘Disappointing’ Season, $162 Million Flop Ace Defends New York Yankees’ Horror Run in 2023

The New York Yankees are not used to facing horror seasons. Unfortunately, this rare incident happened this year. With the last defeat against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, the Bronx Bombers bid goodbye to the 2023 MLB season. Despite that, their $162 Million Pitcher expressed loyalty to the team, ignoring his poor performance stats.

The Yankees have suffered through a rocky season with around 40 players on the injured list, including Aaron Judge. Though their captain tried his best after he recovered, it was too late. During an interview after their “failure” season, the ace pitcher safeguarded his team’s performance.

Yankees Playoff Hopes Shutdown For the Season

The 2023 season was a terrible one for the New York Yankees. Though elimination is a natural game rule, the Bronx Bombers never really experienced the postseason elimination after 2016. Fans were almost prepared for the result, but it still broke their hearts. Despite all that, Carlos Rodon stands for his team during the post-game interview and said, “It’s pretty disappointing. We viewed ourselves as a championship club, and this year we underperformed massively. It just has not been good.”

Though the pitcher was a complete failure this season, he still showed his loyalty to the team. Rodon was a challenge to the team, as his hamstring injury deteriorated his performance to a great extent. He had a 6.60 ERA initially, which he lowered to 5.90 ERA. Still, it is high enough from the average. The pitcher’s this season’s WHIP is 1.32, with 64.1 IP. The strikeout average is still better, with 64 in possession. Of course, he has a few well-pitched innings, but mostly, he didn’t contribute positively to the team.

For Aaron Judge, it was his first postseason failure as a captain. While Judge was not ready to lose his postseason hope, even one day prior, the Sunday game defeat instantly changed his mind. After losing the first playoff after becoming a captain, Judge expressed, “If I’m not standing here talking to you guys after a championship, it’s a failure.”  The second game against the Arizona Diamondbacks altered things in an instant.

The Diamondbacks Closed Playoff Doors for The Yankees

The 3-game series with the Diamondbacks started with a bang. While Judge created a milestone, and Cole placed well-pitched innings to wrap the opponents up in the first game, things entirely flipped on Sunday. The DBacks eliminated the Yankees from the race while still having their playoff spot reserved. The sacrifice flies of Tommy Pham, Christian Walker, and Geraldo Perdomo contributed as the key moments, while Evan Longoria’s two-run single takes things a step further.

Read More: With a $360M Contract Eating Up 14% Of Yankees Payroll, Aaron Judge Continues Playing Through Torn Ligament to Prove Worth in Meaningless Game

The Yankees’ pitchers Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Randy Vásquez tried hard but couldn’t stop the endeavor. On the other side, Carlos Rodon yielded five runs in slightly over 6 innings, with 3- earned runs. This rain-drenched game finally took all the hopes of the Yankees.

What do you think of the Yankees 2023 MLB Season? Share your opinions with us in the comments.

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