When it comes to 2024, two names stand out—Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Sure, the Japanese star has his historic 50-50 club entry, and then there is Bobby Witt, who also set records himself. But if you look closely at the numbers, there is one name that clearly is the ‘hero’ of the season, if you were to say—Aaron Judge. The Yankee captain, with his raw power and his numbers, stands out way in the front. He led the league with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs, making a case for being the MLB Player of the Year.

Aaron Judge also had a 1.159 OPS and blew Ohtani away by .123 points and Witt by .113. Judge joined Babe Ruth in a club where only those two solely belonged, hitting 58 home runs and also leading MLB in walks and RBIs. But that’s not even it. He also posted the highest OPS+ by any right-handed hitter in over a century. That’s right—100 years! He beat Rogers Hornsby’s record that prevailed till 1924.

However, Judge’s heroics were still not done. He slugged .701 this season. With that, he became the only third player in the history of the sport to do that while playing 100+ games in center field. The others before him on the list were Hack Wilson and Mickey Mantle.

Recently. 701 slugging percentage made headlines again. Turns out he is the first qualified player in 20 years to slug over .700 in a season. This number just separates him from the rest of the pack. Alex Rodriguez, a New York Yankee star, once said this about Judge, “It’s exciting when you see a kid like that hit a ball over the scoreboard; that’s pretty special!” He saw something special in Judge and saw how special Judge’s performance truly was this year. But what’s shocking is that, much like Alex Rodriguez’s postseason woes, Judge too has had a flat year.

Sure, Aaron Judge has hit 58 home runs during the regular season. But in the postseason his bat fell still. Everyone waited around for the time his bat would come alive, and it never did. So while he has had a record season, he still to this day has no World Series ring to show, and the title of being the ‘underperforming postseason’ star looms above his head. Fans aren’t much thrilled with the .701 slugging percentage; all they care about is the postseason result.

Fans not amused by Aaron Judge’s regular-season heroics

One user gave a straightforward comment. “Too bad it wasn’t when his team needed him the most…IN OCTOBERRRRRR 🗣🗣.” And Yankee fans are clearly disappointed with Judge’s October woes. In the postseason, his numbers were 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. Derek Jeter had highlighted during the WS that if the Yankees want to get over with the drought, performing as a team is crucial. But alas, Judge wasn’t able to perform, and Soto and Giancarlo Stanton tried their best but couldn’t stand against LA.

Concerned about the negative comments, a user said, “Is this what the comments are going to look like on every Aaron Judge post for the rest of our lives?” Well, until Judge removes the tag of being an underperformer in the postseason, this sadly is the reality he needs to face. In October, Judge swung and missed 22.8 percent of the 215 pitches. It’s a huge increase from his 12.9 percent in the regular season.

A simple statement by a user, “Still no ring.” But it says a thousand words. Will Judge, no matter how good his resume, be counted as a legend without a ring? Plus, the New York Yankee fans are getting impatient. The last time they won a ring was back in 2009. And this time, they had Juan Soto, and they had the chance to make it. Together, Soto and Judge made 99 home runs, a testament to the power. But still, they lagged behind.

One person tried to rationalize, “If people only care about the postseason, then sports are never going to be fun for them.” But fans are mad because Judge’s inability to come through in the clutch moment hurts. He was in a slump around two or three times this season. Yet, players in MLB actually look forward to coming to the Yankees because of Judge. Recently, Paul Goldschmidt said, “He is one of the best hitters in the world, maybe the best hitter. And as a right-handed power hitter, [he is] a guy that I’m very, very excited to play with and get to see him work every day.” And that says a lot about Judge’s influence, no matter his postseason numbers.

Of course, this comment came through: “Now learn to catch a ball now. 😮—he actually dropped a fly ball.” This is the famous ball drop by Judge during the World Series Game 5. This moment came in the fifth inning when Judge mishandled Edman’s routine line. This allowed the Dodgers to score five runs in the same inning and led them to victory. This ball drop is etched in Yankee minds.

Aaron Judge might be a sensation in the regular season, but he needs to show his postseason heroics soon. Well, 2025 is soon to win over his fans.