AL DIVISION SERIES: GUARDIANS VS YANKEES

October 10, 2022

Aaron Judge

Yankee Stadium

New York Yankees

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. As the playoffs begin, how driven are you to win a World Championship?

AARON JUDGE: Well, this is, you know, I'm excited, that's for sure. Definitely driven just like everybody else in this room. Had quite a few opportunities the past couple years to go out there and win a World Series, and we've come up short. So I think every single one of those times that we've kind of fallen on our face has been definitely a learning experience for me and a lot of guys in this room. And we are just excited to get back out there and hunt it down this year.

I'm also excited that we have quite a few guys that this is their first time getting into the postseason and getting a chance to play some meaningful games. It's an exciting time and a lot of buzz in that clubhouse right now, so we are just ready to get rolling for tomorrow.

Q. While you were chasing history, it felt like the expectation was every at-bat, people had their phones out and they wanted to see a home run. Is there part of you that's relieved that it's no longer the expectation?

AARON JUDGE: Well, I like having everybody on their feet. You know, I love hearing the stadium kind of go crazy when you're walking up to the plate. I'm relieved that it's over with so that we can kind of go back to focusing on playing the game and winning a ballgame.

It was a little strange there for awhile, every time you step up to the plate, people are expecting to you hit a home run. And every time I step up there, I'm trying to do what I can to help the team win. So it was kind of a weird situation there but happy I can do it and kind of share that moment with my teammates and family.

Now it's back to, you know, playing baseball, and we're still going to have those same feelings, those same jitters with the crowd on their feet. Especially Yankee Stadium these next two games, it's going to be a packed house. I think the past couple weeks of going through that and having this whole team kind of be there and witness that whole situation, I think it prepared us for what's to come here in the postseason.

Q. You were potentially walked 19 times last year. Maybe a guy like Barry Bonds who you grew up watching saw more intentional walks. Were you surprised with the home runs that you had that you didn't have as many intentional walks or does that change with every series, every at-bat?

AARON JUDGE: I think a lot of teams understand how tough it is to hit, especially with the major league pitching that we have in this day and era. I feel like every single starter is throwing 95-plus, and I feel like every guy in the bullpen is throwing a hundred. It's still hard to hit the baseball and do something productive.

A lot of teams during the year said, hey, we are going to go after him and see what happens and we'll be careful with him and if he swings out of the zone, he swings out of the zone; and if he doesn't, he'll take his walk. I didn't expect to walk any more or expect to walk any less.

In the postseason, I expect teams to have scouting reports. They will do what they need to do. There will be certain situations where they come after me or other guys and certain situations where they pitch around me or other guys just to get the right matchup. If they are going to walk me and put me on base, I'm happy for it because I know we have a stacked lineup behind me of guys that are waiting to drive me in.

Q. You guys have advanced far in the postseason during your time here. What makes you confident that this year could be different to get over the hump and win a title?

AARON JUDGE: Well, I feel like in years past, we've just kind of lacked, you know, having some of the top-end starting rotation pitching. I feel like a couple years ago, we went out and got Gerrit Cole. Just watching what Nestor Cortes has developed into these past couple years, getting Severino back healthy, and we saw what he did in his last start in Texas. It's impressive.

I can go on and on about our starting pitching and hand it off to our bullpen, it makes for a short game. Besides what I think our offense is capable of doing everything single night, which we showcased all year long, when it comes down to it, it's defense and starting pitching that's going to win you games in October, something that we definitely specialize in. We've got some dogs out there on the mound that are ready to show what they can do.

Q. For players who have not experienced it, how would you describe to them what Yankee Stadium is like for a playoff game?

AARON JUDGE: Man, it's heaven. That's where you want to be. You know, for me, I just -- for me I get the jitters. The intros, running out on that line, the crowd cheering, the whole crisp, cool air. There's nothing like it. You can't hear the role call -- even when I'm in right field, with the bleacher creatures, I can barely hear what they are saying, it's so loud.

When it comes down to it, you have to embrace and enjoy every single moment. We are still playing the same kids's game that we have been playing all year and still have to go out and do the same thing we have done for 162 games. For the guys that have not been there and experienced it, soak it in, realize and acknowledge that you are going to be a little nervous and that you are going to have some butterflies in your stomach.

You know, if you prepare the right way, do what you need to do pregame, now it's time to go out there and embrace the moments and have fun with it and just play ball.

Q. The atmosphere has been weird here, focusing on your at-bats only. What are you hoping it looks, feels, and sounds like tomorrow?

AARON JUDGE: Just like all the other postseason games we've had here, just wild, fans on their feet from the very first pitch to the last out, constant noise. I think the fans, they are going to show out in numbers, just based on what we did all year, staying in first place, winning our division, not winning a World Series for quite a few years, I think the fans are hungry just like we are for a championship.

So they are a big part of this whole thing for us. They are out there battling with us every single pitch, and when they bring the energy for us as players, we feed off it. We are all just looking forward to putting on a good show for them in the postseason.

Q. A lot of times we see before an at-bat, especially when the other team is in the bullpen, you're reviewing things on the iPad. What are you looking to pick up? The release point? The ball spins out. In that minute or two, what knowledge do you get?

AARON JUDGE: You write down -- we've got different notes that we take and we can put on those iPads, like personal notes of mine. And even just a refresher of what -- you know, I just got done seeing I don't know how many pitches from the starter, if they bring in a high-leverage guy. I've been doing all my homework the night before and that day, it never hurts to get another set of eyes on what's his fastball doing, what's his breaking ball doing.

And then it's just go out there and stick to your plan and go have fun. I don't try to look at too much. Just a quick refresher on what this guy has, and go out there to make a plan and go to work.

Q. So just a note on the intentional walks. Barry was walked 120 times in 2004 alone and 688 times in his career and still hit 762 home runs. Pretty minor with you, don't you think?

AARON JUDGE: Yeah, I never said it was a lot. Still getting over 600 plate appearances. That's one joke my dad always said. He's like, "Man, you're getting up to the plate about 600 or 500 times. You telling me you can't hit any out?"

We have fun with that. But Barry was a different animal. Would he get maybe one pitch a series and drive it out, one pitch a game. It was impressive and definitely fun to watch as a kid.

So I'm glad I didn't get to walk 100-something times. That would have been a little wild.

Q. Barry said you guys have never met.

AARON JUDGE: No.

Q. Okay. When you meet him, and I'm sure you will, will you approach it as a kid like to his idol or a peer?

AARON JUDGE: Well, definitely as an idol. I've got respect for the guys that came before me and played this game before me and everything they have done. I definitely see it as approaching an idol, and I'll pick his brain a little bit. You know, just any tips I can get on how he made this game look so easy. It could be even defensive stuff because of the amount of Gold Gloves he's won out there in left field.

So whenever I get a chance to meet him, I'll definitely want to have a lengthy conversation, that's for sure.

Q. You talked before about not having success in the postseason and how that's kind of driven you a little bit. Is there one thing that you take away from that, a feeling or a memory, and when do you think about it? How do you use that?

AARON JUDGE: Well, the worst feeling in sports besides having to walk off that field, either getting walked off or losing the game is coming back into the clubhouse and just having that silence. Like, you know, you don't know what to say, you don't know what to do. It's like, I've been working my butt off since November of the year before to get to this spot and all of a sudden now you're telling me it's over with and I've got to go home?

Just that feeling of coulda, shoulda, woulda. You're thinking back, if I had done this, if I had done that, we'd be in a better spot. Feeling like you let down your teammates. Feeling like you let down the city, the team. A bunch of different emotions after a loss in the postseason.

That's one thing I said to the guys last year in Fenway. We were all sitting there in silence looking at each other and nobody knows what to say. It's like, hey, guys, don't forget this feeling. When you're working out this off-season and it's too early or you're too tired, think about this feeling right here and how sick you feel, how upset you are, how mad you are, and use that to get you out of bed.

Or even when it's July and August, the dog days and you don't feel like doing that workout, you don't feel really like locking in for your fifth at-bat of the game, think about walking off the field and seeing the other team celebrate. It's little things like that; it motivates me and pushes me very single day. So I think it's definitely that silence in the clubhouse.

Q. Even after the team clinched the postseason, Aaron was able to move guys in and out of the lineup, but not so much with you. You were carrying a lot. Were you able in the last couple days to refresh yourself and reset in a sense to get out of that mode you were in last Tuesday?

AARON JUDGE: I think I was kind of fighting Skip about the last game. I kind of wanted to get in there, but he said no, take the day. I really just needed that one day and I was ready to go right after that. We've had five days off now. For me, I can come in here and knock out my cage routine, do what I need to do on defense, different recovery stuff I need to do. You know, go back home, recover, watch some film, and just get ready for the next game.

These past couple days have definitely been big time for me to get my body right for this stretch we are about to go on.

Q. Congratulations, 62 home runs don't happen often. When you look back five years ago, right now, and then, most of the time when the Yankees face Cleveland in the postseason, they don't win. What do you expect to happen?

AARON JUDGE: Well, first off, thank you. It's going to be a tough series. When we battled these guys early in the year at our place, we went to them a little bit later in the year. It was a dogfight back and forth. They have got a young team, a lot of young, fast players offensively that work a great at-bat. They cause havoc on the base paths for sure. You have to be on your toes defensively because if you boggle the ball for one second, they will beat those plays out.

And even up and down the pitching staff, they have a lot of guys who know how to pitch and they know how to fight. The last couple games watching them play the Rays, they were never out of that game. When they got down early in Game 1, Ramirez responded with a two-run homer to give them the lead and they hand it off to their bullpen. I'm looking forward to this matchup. Like you said, the last time we faced them in 2020 and 2017, you know, kind of coming in there as the underdog, and we are going to try to keep that same mindset of we have to go out there and prove ourselves every day.

Q. You were just talking about that awful silence in the clubhouse, that sick feeling walking in after an elimination loss. What does it feel like after the sixth or seventh year of that? And because you are the centerpiece of this offense, do you feel a greater responsibility to not let that happen again?

AARON JUDGE: Well, I feel responsibility every single year even when I was a rookie. You know, coming in here and going in my first postseason run in 2017, I felt responsibility not only for this team but the city to go out there and bring something home.

You know, as the years have gone on and we have fallen short and came close and fallen short, you know, it doesn't get any better every year. That's why you've got to learn from all those experiences. You've got to learn from those downfalls. You have to learn from the sleepless nights, and you've got to take what you can from it and turn it into a positive and just get ready for the next year. And that's what I've tried to do every single season.

This year we have put ourselves in a great position and we have got a great team to go out there and kind of close this thing out.

As much as I hate those silent moments, they only make you not only a better player but a better person. You go through the adversity like that.

Q. Do you have a prediction for this team, how far they're going to go?

AARON JUDGE: I think you know my prediction (smiling.)