New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone glanced up at the scoreboard last Wednesday and noticed that Aaron Judge's OPS was approaching 1.100, a number he has topped three of the past four years. The kind of stats that would be astounding for nearly every other major league hitter has become inconceivably routine for Judge.
"It's like, 'How's he doing? Fine,'" Boone said. "It's unbelievable. It really is. So, I do have to catch myself every now and then and just realize how remarkable it is. I really think he's just playing a different game than the rest."
A week later, Judge carries a 1.047 OPS into Wednesday's series finale at the Baltimore Orioles. He has slugged 16 home runs through 43 games, putting him on pace for 60 homers, just two shy of the American League record he set in 2022. He's squarely in early contention to become just the third player, and the first Yankee, to win three straight MVP awards.
In his decade in the Bronx, the Yankees' captain has checked just about every box possible. The title of best hitter in the world still appears to be Judge's to lose. Three weeks removed from his 34th birthday, only a World Series title is left to cement his place among the franchise's all-time greats. Only so many chances remain. But the urgency to accomplish that elusive goal, Judge said, has not fluctuated.
"The urgency's been the same since I stepped on the field," Judge told ESPN. "So, that won't change with me if I'm 42 or if I'm 21."
Urgency has been the external buzzword around the 2026 Yankees -- initially for a perceived lack of it during the offseason and now for a presumed uptick since Opening Day.
A flurry of in-season moves at the trade deadline last summer was followed by a relatively quiet winter that sparked ire from fans and confusion around the industry. While other contenders made significant offseason changes, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman retained nearly every player on a roster that finished with 94 wins last season before getting bounced in the AL Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The strategy so far appears sound.
Boone's club is one of the best in a mediocre AL. The Yankees own the Junior Circuit's second-best record at 27-16 with a league-leading plus-76 run differential -- 42 runs better than anyone else. Their offense is potent. Their starting pitching is deep. At the center of the success is, as ever, Judge -- their 6-foot-7 metronome.
"People want to talk about it as a bad thing," Judge told ESPN. "All offseason, all spring training. Like, they couldn't wait to write a report about the Yankees running it back, which is kind of funny. It's like taking a test. You take a test for the first time and then you kind of see how it turns out; but then if you come back and take the same test with the same questions, same answers, you're going to do a little better."
Cashman's approach produced the Yankees' deepest roster in recent years, which has allowed the organization to make unusually aggressive decisions over the season's first six weeks.
Shortstop Anthony Volpe, the team's starting shortstop the past three seasons through various struggles, was left in Triple-A after his rehab assignment concluded earlier this month, with Jose Caballero starring as his replacement. Right-hander Luis Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, began the season in Triple-A and was sent back there after struggling in three of his four starts with Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole still on the injured list.
Veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Jasson Dominguez, who didn't make the team out of spring training after spending the entire 2025 season in the majors. Paul Goldschmidt, a potential future Hall of Famer signed to start at first base against left-handed pitchers, became a bench player when Ben Rice established himself as an elite threat against lefties.
The decisions differ from years past, when the Yankees gave players longer leashes, either because of necessity, loyalty, financial commitment or a combination of the three. But team officials have denied that they're operating with a greater sense of urgency.
"We've got a good ballclub, so it's good to be urgent," Judge said the day after Volpe was optioned. "Us as players, we're up there fighting for our lives every single day. We're trying to win every single game. So to see it from the management side, where it's like, 'Hey, we're not going to mess around here with some moves, we're going to do what's best for the team,' you appreciate seeing that as a player."
Judge said he called Volpe once the Yankees made their decision and spoke with him for more than a half hour. It was a glimpse into his behind-the-scenes approach as the team's revered leader in his fourth season as the 16th captain in franchise history.
"I'm trying to think how to put it so whoever's reading it understands," Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon said. "It's like the greatest combination of all the vets I've been around."
McMahon, a 10-year veteran acquired at the trade deadline last season, recalled Judge recently spending an hour with him in the batting cage at Yankee Stadium as McMahon worked through an early-season slump that cost him playing time. Judge talked McMahon through the session, keeping an eye on him. Judge emphasized, as he did while working with McMahon during spring training, that the infielder should trust his ability to hit to all fields.
Amed Rosario, another 10-year veteran added at the 2025 deadline, remembered Judge approaching him last season after he had finished a hitting drill. Rosario was surprised to learn that Judge also uses the drill in his routine -- and even more surprised when Judge wanted to know why Rosario does and if it's for the same reasons.
"From that day, I said, 'Oh, this guy is paying attention,'" Rosario said in Spanish. "He's the best. What sticks out to me is he knows who he is, but he doesn't at the same time. He's so humble."
Judge said he tweaks his leadership style each year based on the team, though the foundation is always the same: Lead by example, push guys when they need pushing and do it away from the cameras, "because nobody else needs to see what we're talking about or what we're doing."
Fielding essentially the same team this season has helped the veteran roster's camaraderie, especially in a year when spring training was interrupted by the World Baseball Classic. The head start has translated to a strong start on the field.
While Judge said "it's tough to say" if this is the best team he has been on, the bar is high. The Yankees have won at least 99 games three times and reached four AL Championship Series and one World Series since his first full season in 2017. But the bar isn't high enough for a proud franchise without a World Series title since 2009.
"There's not an extra urgency [to] my will to win and my will to bring a championship back here," Judge said. "That's always been at the highest every single year. But I think the urgency of what I can give back to this game, what I can give back to my teammates, is at an all-time high every single year because there's guys in this room that I only get to play with this year. I'll never see them again. So, what kind of impact can I have on them to further their career and help us win games?"
