After falling short of winning a championship for Team USA, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge will need to turn the page and focus on the upcoming 2026 MLB season.
Judge and Co. will look to improve on last season, when they couldn’t reach the World Series again, falling in the ALDS to the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2026, the Yankees are running back the same team that won 94 games last campaign, hoping for different results.
Nonetheless, if New York falls short of winning the World Series again, it won’t be an indictment of the franchise, as WFAN’s Craig Carton says it’s Judge, not the Yankees, who desperately needs to win a World Series if he wants to receive consideration for being among the franchise’s all-time greats.
“If I had to rank in my head who involved with the Yankees needs to win a championship the most, it’s not the Yankees,” Carton said in a March 19 video from WFAN. “The Yankees have 27 of them, and they’re in the playoffs every single year. And when’s the last time the Yankees were under .500 for a regular season? It’s been a quarter century. So, the New York Yankees have nothing to prove to anybody.
“They are the winningest team of the last 30 years in Major League Baseball. But Aaron Judge desperately needs a championship to solidify himself as one of the great Yankees of all time, which he cannot lay claim to without the ring. And you only need one. You don’t need five, nope. But you have to have one.”
Cody Bellinger Talks Protecting Aaron Judge In the Yankees Lineup
Now, the pressure is on Judge to help deliver a World Series and end New York’s drought, which is approaching two decades since the franchise’s last championship in 2009. Still, he can’t do it alone, and one of the players who will need to provide protection for Judge in the lineup and step up is Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger showed that he can hit behind Judge, and while speaking with YES Network, he shared what he’s learn from protecting the team’s captain in the lineup.
“I mean, intentionally walked, walking, getting hits,” Bellinger told Meredith Marakovits on Feb. 22. “I think for me one, I just had a front‑row seat to what he does, and you can learn a lot from him, you can learn a lot from his swing, how he prepares, and ultimately, talking to [Aaron Boone] a lot of the time late in the game, like, ‘Hey, what do you think?’ and playing the game a little bit because obviously they’re not going to let him beat you, and they’re going to pitch to the guys around him.”
Can New York Find Success in 2026 After Running It Back
Despite winning over 90 games, the Yankees didn’t win the AL East and fell in the ALDS. As a result, they hope this 2026 season turns out differently. Bellinger also spoke about how close the team is, which might have played a role in the decision to run it back one more time.
“It’s huge,” Bellinger added. “I’ve been a part of some really, really good locker rooms, and I really think it’s the key to the success. We’re here: 162 games, good days, bad days, you know, good parts, bad parts. You’ve got to stick with each other. You’ve got to play for each other. And that’s what we do a really good job of here.”
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