MLB playoffs 2024: Aaron Judge, Yankees' offense look lethargic in ALDS Game 2 loss to Royals

This Yankees loss does not rest on the impossibly broad shoulders of Aaron Judge.

In a way, none of them really does.

Judge, the all-world, homer-clubbing captain of this grand franchise, never truly deserves to be the scapegoat of any single defeat. The Yankees are where they are and might go where they hope to go in massive part because Judge is a generational force. Blaming the golden goose seems somewhat ungrateful, misguided.

But fair or not, Judge’s run of playoff underperformance — which continued Monday in a dispiriting 4-2 loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the ALDS — summons a narrative both lazy and unavoidable. A 1-for-7 showing so far this autumn has pushed Judge’s career postseason line to a disappointing (by his immense standards) .208/.311/.449 across 46 games. He now owns the single highest strikeout rate — 34.3% — in playoff history.

Doubts about Judge’s ability to shine on the biggest stage are growing from whispers to questions, silly as that might be.

“I mean, baseball — it's hitting. Got a base hit and a walk in a game,” Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said of Judge in his postgame news conference. “I get it, but hitting is hard. You're not going to hold him down long.”