Aaron Judge on the Wrong Side of MLB History After 4 Strikeouts in Yankees' Win vs. Giants

In an otherwise great game for the New York Yankees with a 7-0 win over the San Francisco Giants, Aaron Judge had a night to forget in the 2026 MLB season opener with four strikeouts as part of an 0-for-5 night at the plate.

Per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Judge became the first reigning MVP to strike out four times in his team's first game of the season.

Judge also entered the history books as the first Yankees player to have no hits and at least four strikeouts in at least five plate appearances on Opening Day.

Adding more insult to the situation is this was the first meaningful game Judge has played since the WBC final when he finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Team USA's 3-2 loss to Venezuela.

None of this is to suggest that Judge is suddenly washed. He's been a streaky hitter for a lot of his career because of his propensity to strike out.

That has been an area of his game that Judge has really improved in recent years. He has had a sub-25 percent strikeout rate in each of the past two seasons, while maintaining a walk rate over 18 percent during that span.

It's also notable that Judge's timing may be a little off because he didn't have a regular spring training. The three-time AL MVP played five games with the Yankees to start the spring, left to join Team USA and played seven games before returning to camp for three more games.

That's a lot of back and forth travel right out of the gate, especially since Judge has also played 331 games between the regular season and playoffs since the start of 2024.

Judge will almost certainly be fine over the course of a 162-game season, but it's still jarring to see him make dubious history for a Yankees franchise that has been around since 1903.