Yankees skipper explains Aaron Judge's dominance in his 30s, defying age-related decline

Aaron Judge has started the 2025 regular season right where he left off last year. The reigning American League MVP is a big favorite to win the award for the second time in a row, as he doesn't seem to be slowing down despite being 33, an age that usually sees a decline in performance.

Veteran insider Ken Rosenthal asked New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone about Judge defying age-related decline before their second game of the three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

"I think he's really good at the grind of the game, the every day, the mental part of it, of some days you're going to lose and it's not going to be your day. He handles all that really well. He handles success and the little bit of struggles that you inevitably have over the course of a long season really well," Boone said [From 0:12].

The Yankees skipper pointed out that Aaron Judge has shown a high level of commitment, similar to how greats in their respective field have. He believes the Judge is always striving to make improvements every year.

"I think he takes ownership and stock of that going into every offseason. He's benefited from the experience that he's gained playing the game. So being in the batter's box and having now thousands of at-bats, he's processed that and grown from that," Boone added.

Boone also mentioned that Judge is constantly making minor adjustments and is a remarkable person playing in a different league than everyone else.

World Series champion explains why pitchers are not walking Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge has an OPS of 1.246, the highest of anybody in the Wild Card era not named Barry Bonds. Despite his stellar form, pitchers have not worked around the Yankees captain.

Dontrelle Willis, a 2x All-Star and 2003 World Series champion with the Florida Marlins, shared an interesting reason why it is so on "MLB on Fox," where he is now a studio analyst.

"It's a level of pride, and I think the supporting cast - the Cody Bellingers, the Paul Goldschmidts have done an outstanding job forcing teams to attack this bad man," Willis said [From 1:53].

Willis added that Judge's comfort will diminish as the season progresses. He believes that teams will start walking Judge once they start looking to solidify postseason berths.

Aaron Judge and the Yankees failed to win a single game in the recently concluded three-game series against the Red Sox. However, they still hold the top spot in the American League East with 42 wins in 70 games. Only the Detroit Tigers have a better record in the league.