Let us go back to last October. The Yankees had just been pantsed by the Astros in the ALCS and fears of an Aaron Judge free agency exit were at an all-time high. The Bomber propaganda machine was cranking out excuses, both immediate and preemptive. One of the scapegoats? The “external toxicity” driven by an angry fanbase.
There was much hand-wringing that Judge would bolt town because he got booed during a brutal ALCS and because he was so aggrieved that guys like Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks were mercilessly booed all year long. And that the mean fans would also keep top free agents from coming to the Bronx.
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Well, here we are. Judge is back. Carlos Rodon is here. And the American League home run king is calling some BS.
Honestly, I had no problem with getting booed. That’s what happens when you don’t come through. It wasn’t the first time I’d been booed in New York, probably not the last, so it didn’t come as a great shock. The fans were disappointed at how the season finished. I would’ve booed too. So, no, I didn’t take it personally. Not at all.
Amen. Judge gets it. And the idea he was going to go elsewhere because people told Gallo how much he stunk is quite laughable in hindsight.
We leave you with words of wisdom from Mike Francesa: “You don’t perform, you get booed. You perform, you get a ticker tape parade. It’s how it works.”
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
