MLB MVP Destined To Share Dubious Record with Another Yankee Great
The writing is on the wall. The Yankees are in no rush to maximize the final years of their greatest player in this era. Aaron Judge remains the lone superstar, carrying the franchise and drawing fans through the turnstiles, yet he receives little meaningful support. It’s as if winning championships is no longer a priority for the organization. Instead, the focus has shifted to maintaining profitability and selling the brand. Aaron Judge deserves more, but so far, the front office seems content to let him stand alone.
This is sobering news, but the Yankees have done little to change the narrative. This brings to mind the last time the franchise endured a stretch like this, which occurred in the 1980s to early 1990s, when Don Mattingly stood as the lone attraction on a team starved for postseason success. Mattingly, beloved in New York, never made it to the World Series and appeared in just one playoff series in 1995. Despite his talent and popularity, fortune never smiled on him, and only after his retirement did the Yankees finally find their way back to glory.
Today, Aaron Judge finds himself following the same lonely path that Don Mattingly once walked. Unlike Mattingly, Judge has reached the World Series and played in the expanded postseason almost every year. However, even with three MVP awards and historic performances, the sense of something missing lingers on, a championship ring. What sets their stories apart, however, is the effort made to support them.
George Steinbrenner, for all his flaws, relentlessly tried to build a World Series team around Mattingly, even as Mattingly’s health faded in his final seasons. In sharp contrast, current Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman have failed to construct a true core around Judge, leaving him to carry the Yankees largely on his own. Aaron has managed to stay healthy, but the warning signs are obvious. How much longer can he continue to carry the weight of the franchise before time and wear catch up to him?
Former Yankee Alex Rodriguez has publicly commented on the supporting cast around Aaron Judge during his time with the Yankees, often expressing that Judge has not consistently had elite hitters batting around him. One notable quote from Alex came during a FOX Sports broadcast in October 2023, where he said, "In Judge’s seven years with the Yankees, he’s had maybe one or two months where he’s had real protection in that lineup." Unless the front office changes course, Judge may join Mattingly as another Yankee legend remembered for greatness but not for titles. The clock is ticking.
The irony of this all-too-familiar story is striking and may ultimately be to Aaron Judge’s detriment. After Don Mattingly’s era ended, the Yankees quickly launched into a dynasty, but only once the burden of their star and his singular presence was removed. If Judge reaches the day when he’s no longer performing at an MVP level, will that finally force the Yankees to build the future the right way? Perhaps by then, Brian Cashman will be gone, a new culture will take shape, and Hal Steinbrenner will finally hire a GM with vision and common sense.
The young talent already developing in the minors hints that the next Yankees dynasty is waiting in the wings. Yet the sobering truth remains that resurgence may well arrive without Aaron Judge on the field. Unless the organization acts now to surround him with a truly talented core, Judge is poised to share a dubious honor with Don Mattingly, remembered as a generational Yankee whose greatness was never crowned with a championship ring. For the Yankees, the time to change that narrative is running out.
