Aaron Judge unable to play home games for New York Yankees
New York City’s vaccine mandate has caused issues in the sports universe. Nets star Kyrie Irving is unable to play home games because he is unvaccinated, making him a part time player at best. The New York Yankees and New York Mets will fall under the same umbrella although they play outdoors.
What does this mean? It means that the unvaccinated players on either team will be unable to play. This currently includes Yankees’ star Aaron Judge, who would be unable to play any home games in what is a contract year.
New York Yankees may not have Aaron Judge at home
At least, that is how everything stands now. A City Hall spokesperson did say that could change by Opening Day. As both the Yankees and Mets play outdoors, it is possible that an exception could be made for their players under that mandate.
Judge would be a dramatic loss for a team that is already riddled with holes on their roster. He was easily their most productive hitter last year as he posted a .284/.373/.544 batting line in his 633 plate appearances, hitting 39 homers and 24 doubles. Healthy for the first time since his rookie season, he showed exactly what type of force he can be.
The Yankees are working to change this requirement. They released a statement saying that Randy Levine is working with City Hall and the proper officials on the vaccine mandate and will not discuss the situation any further. It does, however, speak volumes that they are working harder to circumvent the mandate than they are to improve their product on the diamond.
It is possible that this will not be an issue come Opening Day. Judge could be vaccinated by that time. Or the city could change the mandate so that those outdoors will not be required to comply. But it is another drama that the team does not need.
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Aaron Judge may not be able to play home games in a contract year. The New York Yankees slugger remains unvaccinated and unable to work in New York City.