NEW YORK — Everyone wants to talk about the torpedo bats, but the New York Yankees’ season-opening sweep of the undermanned Milwaukee Brewers was about a lot more than just bulbous lumber.
Here are a few takeaways from the Bombers’ 3-0 start to 2025.
Aaron Judge off to hot start — without a torpedo bat
Judge’s outrageous full-year numbers from 2024 — 58 homers, 1.159 OPS, 10.8 bWAR, arguably the best season ever by a right-handed hitter — make it easy to forget that he underwhelmed for most of March and April last year. Entering play on April 27, 27 games into the season, Judge had a .178 batting average, a .674 OPS and just four home runs in 123 plate appearances. It got so bad that during a four-strikeout game against Tampa Bay on April 20, the Yankees captain earned a shower of boos from the home crowd.
Eventually, of course, Judge caught fire and made history. From April 27 to the end of the year, he slashed a preposterous .354/.488/.777, good for a 1.265 OPS and another MVP award.
This season, Judge isn’t waiting around to get hot. Through three games, he has already belted four home runs, a mark tied for the league lead with Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez.
“I wanted to have a better March and April than I did last season,” Judge told reporters after Sunday’s game. During that 12-3 win, the mammoth outfielder went 1-for-1 with three bases on balls, marking the 33rd time in his accomplished career that he walked thrice.
As Judge goes, so do these Yankees. The entire operation is pointless if he’s not crushing baseballs and instilling fear into opposing pitchers. On that front, so far, so good.
Third-base situation gains clarity
Entering this Yankees season, the hot corner looked at best like an unsettled unknown and at worst like a glaring weakness. Over the winter, GM Brian Cashman did not acquire a big-ticket option for third base, opting to let oft-injured vet DJ LeMahieu, switch-hitting utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera and fallen top prospect Oswald Peraza battle it out. The complexion of that group changed during spring training, with another LeMahieu injury and the strong play of 31-year-old journeyman Pablo Reyes.
Entering Opening Day, it appeared that Cabrera would be the preferred option against righties (his career OPS against RHP is nearly 100 points better than his mark against LHP), while Reyes and Peraza would split time against lefty ...
