Let us go back to last October. The Yankees had just been pantsed by the Astros in the ALCS and fears of an Aaron Judge free agency exit were at an all-time high. The Bomber propaganda machine was cranking out excuses, both immediate and preemptive. One of the scapegoats? The “external toxicity” driven by an angry fanbase.
There was much hand-wringing that Judge would bolt town because he got booed during a brutal ALCS and because he was so aggrieved that guys like Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks were mercilessly booed all year long.