Memorial Day offered the New York Yankees their first day off in three weeks but Aaron Judge says he and his teammates would rather be playing.
Between May 8 and May 29, the Yankees played 23 games in 22 days.
It was a grueling run that started to show its stresses over the last week. While they went 15-8 during that stretch, New York lost five of their last nine, including games on Saturday and Sunday against the Rays.
It was after that last game, with a break finally arriving on Memorial Day, that Aaron Judge revealed he’d rather be playing.
Aaron Judge says the Yankees want zero days off
“I think everybody in here wants to play again. We got a bad taste in our mouth,” Judge said despite hitting his MLB-leading 18th home run. “This team’s hungry. We got a lot to prove.”
Tampa Bay managed to split the series with a 3-1 victory on Saturday and a 4-2 win on Sunday. The Yankees took the first two games 7-2 and then 2-0.
New York is sitting 4.5 games ahead of their AL East rivals. They’re half a game behind the Dodgers for the best record in baseball.
Losing to the Rays may leave a bad taste in Judge’s mouth but his team remains one of the top performers in the league this year. They’ll play 19 of their next 28 games in the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium, beginning with a series against the Angels on Tuesday. There will be more than enough opportunities to prove themselves as the summer wears on.
In the meantime, Judge and company should enjoy the rest while they can get it.