Boston Red Sox fans have some unfortunate news for New York Yankees fans excited over Aaron Judge gracing the cover of MLB The Show 26.
This is Judge's second appearance as the game's cover athlete, but his first appearance came in 2018, ahead of a season in which the Red Sox won the World Series.
Boston fans didn't let this fact go unobserved on social media, leaving Yankees supporters with a bitter taste in their mouths following the Judge announcement.
The Judge news arrived attached to further complications. Some people are speculating that Judge was not the original choice for this year's cover, and that the honor was intended for Tarik Skubal before arbitration complications caused a pivot. This hasn't been confirmed, but it certainly gives Red Sox supporters more ammo with which to mock their rival fan base.
The Red Sox won it all last time Aaron Judge was on the MLB The Show cover
There's certainly no denying that Judge's 2025 season begged for another cover appearance, making him the only player other than former Minnesota Twins great Joe Mauer to appear on the game's cover twice. Judge won his second consecutive American League MVP award in 2025, making it three in the last four years for the slugger. Judge's 1.144 OPS was the second-highest of his career, behind only 2024's 1.159 mark.
And while Judge didn't quite exorcise his playoff demons by winning his first World Series, his Yankees did manage to defeat the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series, even after falling behind 0-1 in the three-game set at Yankee Stadium.
A new MLB season will soon be upon us, however, and the Red Sox have added some quality arms to the rotation to deal with Judge when Boston and New York meet for the first time on April 21 (a three-game series at Fenway Park).
Then again, maybe not. Judge is 5-for-12 in his career against Sonny Gray with a homer and two RBI in 12 plate appearances. He's also 1-for-1 against Ranger Suárez.
Garrett Crochet has had more success against Judge, with the Yankees captain going 3-for-15 in his career against Crochet, but those three hits do feature two homers.
Ultimately, the Red Sox shouldn't get too down on themselves for whatever numbers their staff has tallied against arguably the best hitter in the sport. When the season arrives, it'll take more than Judge's brilliance for the Yankees to out-jockey Boston in the standings.