Aaron Judge aims to join past Yankees World Series champs ahead of 2026 season: 'Want my picture up there'

The 2026 MLB play kicks disconnected Wednesday nighttime with the New York Yankees against the San Francisco Giants, and Yankees skipper Aaron Judge volition statesman his travel toward a imaginable 3rd consecutive AL MVP Award. 

Judge is arguably the champion hitter successful today’s game, but for each the accolades helium has accumulated each these years successful pinstripes, a World Series rubric inactive eludes him.

For a Yankees player, that’s the lone measurement of success. After all, the antheral who held the coveted Yankees captaincy earlier him, Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter, made definite to perpetually preach that during the team’s dynasty. 

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Aaron Judge of Team USA during a 2026 World Baseball Classic crippled against the Dominican Republic astatine loanDepot Park March 15, 2026 successful Miami, Fla. (Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos)

Judge sat down with a chap high-profile All-Star, Houston Rockets guardant Kevin Durant, for a Boardroom "Cover Story" interview, successful which Durant asked astir the unit of playing successful New York and however severely the erstwhile wants to beryllium a champion. 

"That’s 1 happening I wanted to bash ever since I got drafted, man," Judge responded. "I wanted to bring a title backmost to New York, and I wanted to permission the enactment and that franchise amended than erstwhile I got successful there. I conscionable privation to permission my people connected there, and hopefully erstwhile these adjacent guys are coming through, that’s the 1 thing, man. You locomotion into Yankee Stadium, these photos are [Derek] Jeter, it’s [Jorge] Posada, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle. 

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"It’s each these legends. So, it’s like, ‘Man, I privation my representation up there. I privation my teammates’ pictures up there. I privation to beryllium a portion of that.’"

Judge and his teammates were connected the doorstep of breaking the Yankees’ World Series drought during the 2024 run but mislaid to the Los Angeles Dodgers successful 5 games. It was the archetypal clip the franchise made it backmost to the Fall Classic since their rubric triumph implicit the Philadelphia Phillies successful 2009. 

In 2025, arsenic Judge went connected to support his AL MVP title, the Yankees fell abbreviated successful the ALDS to the AL East foe Toronto Blue Jays, who won the American League pennant. They besides mislaid to the Dodgers, though it was a thrilling seven-game bid dissimilar Los Angeles’ dominance against Judge’s squad the twelvemonth prior. 

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees arrives earlier a crippled against the San Francisco Giants astatine Oracle Park Wednesday, March 25, 2026, successful San Francisco. (Bryan Kennedy/MLB Photos)

Judge understands the value of pressure. He felt it since coming up done the insignificant leagues, but besides precocious with Team USA during the World Baseball Classic, wherever helium besides served arsenic the team’s captain. But the unit is thing that’s welcome, particularly if he’s having a atrocious game. 

Boos rainfall down successful the Bronx nary substance the player’s stature successful the league, and whether they’re wearing pinstripes oregon not. 

"It was ne'er immoderate pressure, oregon I got to rise my standard. My standard’s already there," Judge told Durant. "If you guys are booing maine oregon getting connected me, I’m booing myself excessively close now. If I beryllium determination and deliberation astir the unit and what I haven’t done yet, it’s going to instrumentality maine disconnected my way of what I privation to accomplish."

Judge’s absorption remains connected 1 thing, and 1 happening lone — winning a World Series. What awards and accolades travel with that are welcome, but astatine this point, they’re not arsenic fulfilling arsenic what helium hopes this caller play volition extremity with. 

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees arrives to a outpouring grooming crippled against the Chicago Cubs astatine Sloan Park March 23, 2026, successful Mesa, Ariz. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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"It’s astir haunting. In Yankee Stadium, they don’t person ‘AL championships,' they don’t person ‘All-Stars.’ They person ‘World Series Champions.’ and it’s each astir the stadium. I spot this small bare spot past ’09. I’m like, ‘That’s what we’re chasing,’" helium said. 

The Yankees and Giants play astatine 8:05 p.m. ET to statesman the 2026 MLB play connected Netflix.

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