Yankees' Aaron Judge on Spring Training: 'I Think It's Going to Start on Time'

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is confident the 2021 MLB season will stay on schedule despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think it's going to start on time—I don't see why not," Judge said Thursday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "I'm ready. We're excited. We've been training since our last game in October to get ready for the season. I'm excited to see some familiar faces again in Tampa and go back to work on what we started."

The 2020 campaign was heavily impacted by the pandemic, initially delayed in March and pushed back during negotiations between players and owners. The regular season eventually got started in late July with a shortened 60-game schedule, and it concluded with the Los Angeles Dodgers as champions in October.

While the coronavirus remains an issue throughout the United States, the 2021 MLB season is currently on track to begin on April 1.

The Yankees play their first spring training game on Feb. 27 shortly after pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 15.

Commissioner Rob Manfred also told clubs the season should start on time, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Per Nightengale, MLB was hoping to delay the start of the year by a month to allow for players to get vaccinated but the MLBPA "vigorously fought it."

A relatively normal season would give Judge a better chance to reestablish himself as one of the game's premier power hitters. Injuries limited the outfielder to just 28 games games in 2020 while he missed at least 50 games in each of the previous two years.

Judge had 52 home runs while winning Rookie of the Year in 2017 but hit just 63 in the three years since.

The Yankees will need the slugger at his best if they want to reach their lofty expectations in 2021.