Aaron Judge has had a decorated career with the New York Yankees. He's collected three MVP awards in his trophy case. On top of that, Judge has emerged as one of the best right-handed batters ever.
The one rub with Judge, though, is that he has no championship. The last Yankee great in this position was Don Mattingly, but there's a cavernous difference between Judge's postseason opportunities and Mattingly's. Judge has had shots year after year outside of this season and 2023, while Mattingly had just 1995.
New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly in action against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
One of the more annoying aspects of Judge being ring-less so far is that some of his teammates have rings. Granted, baseball is a team sport, and they aren't the only reason their teams won, but they were still part of the overall success.
Here are five of Judge's former teammates who won a World Series.
For a long time, nobody knew if Ben Rortvedt was real. He was a throw-in in the Josh Donaldson trade, and the big hope was that he could become an everyday catcher, or, at least, a backup. That didn't happen. For the longest time, all anybody had to go on for Rortvedt was one picture of him showing off a huge bicep.
Then came 2023. Rortvedt ended up being Gerrit Cole's catcher, and he helped the ace win his first Cy Young. In one particular game, Cole was seen having an animated argument with Rortvedt over something.
That was Rortvedt's last season with the Yankees, and he eventually bounced around between Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. Rortvedt got a few postseason ABs, but never had an official at-bat in the World Series. Still, it's funny to see the dichotomy between his and Cole's individual nights in Game 5. Cole's team imploded defensively, and Rortvedt walked away with a ring.
Heaney was a big reason the Yankees played the Wild Card game at Fenway Park instead of River Avenue in the Bronx in 2021. He was disastrous as a Yankee after his trade
New York Yankees starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (38) is checked by umpire Phil Cuzzi (10) during the middle of the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports
Unfortunately for the Yankees, he did find another gear, but not with them. He spent a year with the Dodgers in 2022, and then went on to win a World Series with the Rangers the following year.
The southpaw had a great start in the World Series. He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed one run against the Diamondbacks. That was probably what the Yankees were hoping for in 2023, but they ended up designating him for assignment before the season was over.
Sanchez was once one of the best catchers in all of baseball. Then something happened in 2018 and his production cratered. From then on, Sanchez had a contentious relationship with both fans and the media. There was this notion that he was lazy-totally unfounded claims that ignored how hard it is to be a catcher trying to corral an entire pitching staff.
Judge and Sanchez were supposed to lead the Yankees to a World Series. Sadly, Sanchez got his ring before Judge. Funny enough, at Sanchez's worst, it felt like he wasn't long for the big leagues.
While Sanchez didn't have as much of a role in the Brewers' postseason run toward their first championship , Bauers did. He was huge in the NLCS, demolishing the Dodgers' pitching staff.
Bauers was a part of a 2023 Yankee team that missed the playoffs. He didn't have the best season, but had flashes of what he would become for the Brewers. At one point, Bauers thought he would retire, which makes him winning a World Series ring that much more special. Thankfully, he held on a little longer. He's one of the good guys in the game and deserves it.
If James Shields got the moniker Big Game James, nobody would have faulted Monty for taking on that nickname, too. The Yankees traded Montgomery for Harrison Bader. Bader was eventually cut in 2023, and the Cardinals traded Montgomery to the Rangers. That ended up being the biggest trade in Rangers history, too.
In 31 IP that postseason, Monty had a 2.90 ERA. He went 3-1 in five starts. He also had a 17-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The big postseason eventually landed him a huge deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he turned into a pumpkin thereafter. He fired Scott Boras for giving him bad advice, and his career hasn't been the same, but that's okay. He'll always have 2023.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees/onsi as Five Former Yankees Who've Won a World Series Before Aaron Judge .
