MLB should be terrified of Yankees as Aaron Judge gets ready 'fast as I can'

The New York Yankees celebrated this conquest – a two-game sweep of the rival Boston Red Sox in their American League wild-card series, capped by a 9-2 Game 2 rout – in the usual fashion, albeit a bit abbreviated. The lights came on before midnight, halting the party and reminding them there's a plane to catch and an AL Division Series matchup with the division champion Tampa Bay Rays on deck.

Beyond surviving and advancing, though, there was something grander to celebrate: The Yankees played a postseason game without Judge for the first time since 2015 – and not only did they move on, they flourished.

Judge, their three-time AL MVP, sat out from June through mid-September this year due to a rib fracture. The Yankees won 93 games, anyway.