Aaron Judge is 2-for-16 with nine strikeouts in the ALDS so far, and thanks to a Game 4 win, his potentially final legacy at Yankee Stadium won’t be getting booed after a poor performance.
He and the Yankees have a chance to re-write the narrative in a do-or-die Game 5 Monday night, in which it’s certain to happen again if he underperforms, and will certainly be the talk of the town again if and when it happens.
Color Boomer and Gio not surprised.
“I’m not surprised at all that happened – everyone gets booed!” Gio said Monday. “Whether you agree with it or not is a different thing, but everyone gets booed. The Yankee fan cares about one thing, and that’s moving on and winning a championship. If Aaron Judge is going to be terrible in these playoff games, Yankees fans will remember that more than the 62 home runs. I don’t have a problem with it, because that’s what New York fans do – and the energy they have when they’re mad at you, they have the same energy when they love you.”
“Jeter got booed, Mariano got booed,” Boomer reminded, before moving on to the future: “But what happens if he strikes out four times tonight and they lose – are people going to want him back?"
“Well, if you produce you’re going to be loved forever and will be a legend, and if you don’t in the biggest moments, you’re going to be crushed,” Gio said. “I’m sure they would want him back, but in the instant reaction moment, some people will say, ‘screw him, let him leave.’ If he comes up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and strikes out, of course people will be pissed.”
Boomer then joked that when he heard boos, he just aid to himself they were actually saying “Boo-mer,” which actually brought Gio to a hockey reference – and a harsh reality.
“The point is, expect it!” Gio said. “He had a phenomenal year, he’s been a great Yankee, and he may end up in Monument Park when all is said and done if he stays, but it’s the playoffs, and you have to get it done. He did hit a homer Saturday, but you need more, because he’s been invisible otherwise.”
Boomer then lamented that Judge hasn’t been the same since hitting No. 61, and compared him to another recently beloved New York star.
“The whole thing is crazy, and all I can say is this: think about Julius Randle two years ago and how beloved he was, and look how quickly it took a right-hand turn,” Boomer says. “That’s how I felt the other night about Judge when he got booed.”
“It’s the frustration from the fan who has had a ton of playoff disappointment in recent memory. The last thig they want to see is them losing to the Guardians,” Gio said. “Aaron Judge has to be great for them to win a championship – and they know it.”
As for the future beyond Monday, well, if the Yankees win, Boomer doesn’t believe they can beat the Astros – but again, Gio does, if Judge becomes Judge again.
“I can’t say that – if Judge gets hot and does what he did for a majority of the regular season, the Yankees can beat the Astros,” Gio said. “But if he’s playing like this, I don’t think so.”
Follow WFAN's morning team on Twitter: @7BOOMERESIASON, @GioWFAN, @Alsboringtweets, @JerryRecco, and @WFANMornings
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