The first-place New York Yankees in the American League East will travel to Los Angeles on Friday for a showdown against the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, marking a rematch of the 2024 World Series.
For the Yankees, this is an excellent opportunity to see where they stand after losing to the Dodgers in the World Series a year ago.
But it also brings back some tough memories for the fans and Aaron Judge. Judge, who was injured during the 2023 campaign after colliding with the right field wall in Los Angeles, tore a ligament in his big toe.
He missed 42 games after that, and the Yankees struggled as a result.
When asked if Judge would play right field, as that’s where he's been playing for the Yankees throughout the campaign, skipper Aaron Boone revealed that the plan is for him to play right, and the Yankees aren't too worried about what happened two years ago.
"No, he's going to play right field," Boone told "Talkin' Yanks" on Tuesday.
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Hopefully, the Dodgers' right field door won't open and Judge won't fall into it. He always tries to make plays, so it's impossible to say that he'll let something bounce off the wall if he can catch it, but as long as he gets out of this series and the rest of the next few months healthy, the Yankees should like their chances against any team in baseball, maybe outside of the Dodgers.
They've been swinging the bats at a very high level, and their pitching staff has stepped up.
Judge, clearly the favorite to win the American League MVP Award again, is hitting .395 with a ridiculous 18 home runs.
His showdown against the Dodgers and Ohtani is again highly anticipated.