Yankees’ Ask Me Anything: Judge’s 1st World Series, predictions and more

Game 1 of the 2024 Fall Classic will kick off at Dodger Stadium at 8:08 p.m. ET on Friday. Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch recently fielded questions from fans during a Reddit AMA, and here’s a sampling of the conversation, previewing the series:

What do you think are the keys to the Yankees winning? Any weaknesses in the Dodgers that you think the Yankees can exploit to push them over the top?
I’m surprised to see that the Dodgers are slightly favored in this series, if only because the Yankees have the starting pitching edge on paper. The Dodgers have been dealing with so many injuries there, while the Yankees are rolling out four legit starting pitchers in Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil. To me, that gives the Yankees the edge here. I’m picking Yankees in six.

Do you see anything from Aaron Judge that leads you to believe he’ll hit better in the World Series? Yanks need him to shore up the top of that order even more.
I’m going to point to his game-tying home run in ALCS Game 3. That was a Moment (capital M) that almost gets forgotten because the Yankees didn’t win the game. Kansas City and Cleveland clearly went in with the game plan that they weren’t going to let Judge beat them, and I’m sure the Dodgers will do the same. I just feel there have been so many at-bats where he’s close, where he gets a pitch to hit and fouls it off. Sooner or later, he’s going to connect with those.

Which player are you most excited to see take the WS stage for the first time?
It’s an easy answer, but Judge. You can’t ask for anything better than having the two MVPs go head to head in Judge and Shohei Ohtani, the first time we’ve ever seen a pair of 50-homer players on opposing sides in a World Series. It’s a series of stars, which is so appropriate for a New York-Los Angeles showdown.

Outside of the superstars, who do you think is going to be the X-factor for the Yankees to put them over the edge and win this thing?
I could see Jazz Chisholm Jr. coming through with a big hit during this series. He’s due, and I don’t think the moment is going to be too big for him. Just getting to cover him the last few months, you can tell that he lives for this spotlight.

Juan Soto re-signing aside, would you say this World Series is one of the last hopes for this core? Since the 2017 window opened, which roster and year was the most complete in your view?
I don’t think we can put the Soto signing aside, because that is such an important part of their future World Series chances. If they re-sign him, the window is open for a long, long time. But your question is, hypothetically, Soto walks — can the Yankees compete for a World Series in 2025? I think the answer is, they can. They’d still have a prime Judge, a very strong Cole, a resurgent Giancarlo Stanton … and you know they wouldn’t stand pat if Soto goes elsewhere. So, no, there’s definitely a path to more pennants.

As I mentioned in another response, I think the 2017 Yankees were more complete top to bottom, but this team has Judge and Soto — that’s like having Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

2024 Yankees vs 2009 Yankees. Who wins and in how many games?
That ’09 Yankees lineup was so stacked — just look at the names there. I mean, they had Robinson Canó batting seventh. One through nine, I think that was a deeper lineup. On the pitching side, they were able to cycle through only three starting pitchers throughout the entire postseason — CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte, with Mariano Rivera in the bullpen. I’ll give them the edge in six, but the good news is for the ’24 Yankees, they don’t have to face the ’09 Yankees.

How do you think being named Captain has changed Judge’s leadership in the clubhouse, especially in the playoffs, compared to past runs and particularly 2022?
To be perfectly honest, I don’t think the title has changed much. It was his clubhouse already in ’22, as he chased the record — he was a captain without the official honor. When Hal Steinbrenner gave it to him after agreeing to the contract, it just confirmed what everyone around the team already knew and felt. There’s very little that happens around this team without Judge’s fingerprints on it.