As the baseball season began, the usually cordial relationship between the Yankees and their franchise player, Aaron Judge, strained under the stress of contract negotiations.
Judge turned down a sizeable offer and chose to “bet on himself,” the operative phrase, and so far he is winning. So are the Yankees.
With his monster season, 33 homers at the All-Star break, and a few surprises, a retooled Yankees team has the best record in baseball and, until recently, was keeping the torrid pace set by their 1998 predecessors, who won a record 125 regular and postseason games.
