Yankees’ Aaron Judge drops sobering take on winning MVPs

The New York Yankees could not be enjoying a better start to the 2026 campaign after sweeping the San Francisco Giants on the road. They outscored the opposition by 12 runs and received stellar pitching from three of their starters, as well as each reliever who took the mound.

Captain Aaron Judge has already cranked his first two home runs of the season, and although those have been his only two hits this far, he’s left no doubt that he can be the American League MVP once again.

Still, this is far from the 33-year-old’s most pressing priority, and he would not have you think otherwise.

“My job is not to win MVPs,” Judge told Dan Martin of the New York Post. “It’s to win games. The MVPs and other things are cool and when I’m done playing, I’ll think about that. But now, doing that takes away from the ultimate goal of putting the Yankees back on top. Counting those other things and worrying about that doesn’t help.”

The Yankees fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 World Series and were bounced by the eventual AL champion Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS last season. Judge has made eight postseason appearances and has yet to win a championship.

Despite winning three MVPs, securing a batting title, and earning seven All-Star selections, Judge maintains that he does not concern himself with visions of personal accolades as he attempts to lead the Yankees to their 28th title in franchise history.

“I only think about the stuff I’ve missed out on,’’ Judge said. “That’s all that matters every year. It’s not All-Star games or MVPs. It’s ‘Did you win it all or not?’ And not getting that always eats at you.”

New York entered this season with lofty expectations, and Judge will seemingly go through the season with his past October battle scars in mind.

“I’ve been the same when it comes to that since my rookie year and we lost the ALCS,’’ Judge said. “A loss is a loss, regardless of where you are in your career. It doesn’t matter what happened during the regular season. I’m here to finally punch the ticket and finish it off.”

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