Aaron Judge Playing September and October With Fractured Rib Proves You Should Never Question His Toughness
By Michael Luciano
Aaron Judge has yet to do much of anything at New York Yankees Spring Training, and this prolonged absence is the result of shoulder/pectoral pain emanating from a fractured rib that could keep him out past Opening Day.
Manager Aaron Boone claims that his injury dates back to September of the dreaded, injury-filled 2019 season, as Judge jammed his shoulder while diving for a ball in right field, but the injury was not diagnosed originally by a medical staff that has since been replaced.
Boone said the injury dates back to September, when Judge dove and jammed his right shoulder. This injury was not diagnosed then. Judge played the rest of the regular season and playoffs after that dive.
— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) March 6, 2020
Judge played in 22 regular season games during September and October, and he managed to clout eight home runs in those games, while launching another in the ALCS against the Houston Astros.
Judge has missed over 100 games combined in the last two seasons due to various injuries, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that he has been documented playing through an injury that makes it difficult to even breathe. Not only was he playing, but he was playing at a high level.
Aaron Judge has a stress fracture in a rib. Yankees are going to try two weeks of rest but surgery is not off the table.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 6, 2020
If you want to tag Judge with the dreaded "injury prone" label, that's your prerogative. However, calling him weak, either mentally or physically, after he played two months of baseball with a fractured rib is simply out of order.