The entire team was drunk while he remained sober! Yankees captain Judge suffers an epic season ending in elimination.

On October 9th (Beijing time), during the ALDS Game 4, the New York Yankees fell 2-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays, resulting in a 1-3 series defeat and extending their drought from the World Series title to 16 years. For 33-year-old skipper Aaron Judge, this was clearly a heartbreaking conclusion. Even though he put up a performance worthy of being called “epic,” he couldn’t carry the Yankees ahead while his teammates struggled.

This season, Judge earned his first American League batting title with a .331 average, hitting 53 home runs and driving in 114 runs — marking the fourth time in his career he’s hit 50 or more homers in a season. In the playoffs, he maintained his offensive firepower across seven games, collecting 13 hits in 25 at-bats for a .520 average, along with one home run, seven RBIs, and four walks. Against the Blue Jays in the four games, he hit an even higher .600, going 9-for-15 with a homer, six RBIs, and four walks, silencing critics who labeled him a “playoff softie.” He also became only the second player in MLB history to hit at least .600 in a series with multiple hits in every game (minimum four games), the last being the legendary Babe Ruth in 1928.

In the previous game, Judge hit a crucial three-run homer in the 7th inning that sparked the Yankees’ hopes for a comeback. However, in Game 4 facing the Blue Jays’ relentless bullpen, the Yankees managed just six scattered hits, two of which came from Judge. Ultimately, Bellinger struck out to end the game, and Judge slowly walked back to the dugout, looking back at the Blue Jays celebrating their victory inside Yankee Stadium.

Judge admitted, “This is a team game; we win together and lose together. Of course, I could have done better and will go back to make adjustments. As for my personal performance, I don’t really care. The goal of playing is to win, and if we don’t, then the year can’t be considered a success.”

“It’s hard to describe this feeling,” Judge said. “We didn’t reach our goals or seize the crucial moments. This team has many special players who made the season exciting, but in the end, we couldn’t bring home the trophy.”

Judge believes the Yankees lost again due to details: “We have to take advantage of small opportunities and deliver key hits; if we give the opponent extra outs, they will strike back. The Blue Jays played great this year, winning both the division and the series — they earned this outcome. We must focus on the details better next year.”

Judge described the 2025 Yankees as a “special team” and expressed regret for not leading his teammates further: “Our goal in playing is to win, and without winning, it’s not a successful season. This year the roster was complete and balanced, and I always believed we had a chance. Some players might never wear this jersey again, and it’s truly disappointing not to have gone further with them.”