Yankees and Aaron Judge face possible Hurricane Milton damage during tense playoff run

The New York Yankees are successful the oculus of the hurricane. 

Aaron Judge and institution are already facing the unit of a tense postseason run successful a twelvemonth of historical concern for the organization. 

They took a 2-1 bid lead implicit the Kansas City Royals successful an ALDS Wednesday night, but they are inactive a agelong mode from reaching the World Series. 

Then Hurricane Milton deed Florida. 

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This GOES-16 GeoColor outer representation taken astatine 12:15 p.m. EDT and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Milton successful the Gulf of Mexico, disconnected the seashore of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.  (NOAA via AP)

The Yankees ain aggregate sites successful the authorities of Florida, galore of which were successful the way of the storm. This includes their outpouring grooming site, George M. Steinbrenner Field. The enactment evacuated each of its insignificant league players from the grooming tract earlier this week, and it was converted into a structure up of the storm’s expected landfall for Tampa-based organizational employees and their families. 

Some of the team's imaginable playoff players, including seasoned starter Marcus Stroman and promising reliever Clayton Beeter, were imaginable call-ups to beryllium backmost connected a imaginable ALCS roster, and they were successful Tampa Tuesday throwing astatine the outpouring grooming analyzable earlier heading for safer crushed by catching a formation to New York.

"It’s an uncertain time," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters this week "Just person to commune for the champion and anticipation for the safety."

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General manager Brian Cashman told reporters the squad had to unopen down its instructional league this week and moved its alternate rehab and grooming tract retired of the area. 

"(Hopefully), the harm is minimal, but that’s astir apt not going to beryllium the case," Cashman said.

The hurricane has already proven almighty capable to wreak immense harm connected overmuch larger buildings. The Yankees' part rival, the Tampa Bay Rays, had the roof ripped off their location stadium, Tropicana Field, by Milton's winds Thursday night. The Rays did not marque the playoffs this year, however. So, it won't interrupt immoderate postseason MLB games. However, that stadium was besides reportedly being utilized arsenic a shelter. 

A drone representation shows the dome of Tropicana Field, which was torn unfastened by Hurricane Milton successful St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 10, 2024.  (Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images)

The halfway of the tempest deed 60 miles southbound of Tampa adjacent Sarasota, Florida, and much than 6.5 cardinal Floridians successful the Tampa Bay country reportedly were evacuated by Wednesday. 

Milton reached the west-central seashore of Florida astatine astir 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. When it made landfall, the hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour. Fox Weather has reported that astatine slightest 5 radical person died. Florida Gov. Ron Desantis has told reporters his authorities has not confirmed immoderate deaths but did not regularisation retired the anticipation of casualties. 

Multiple Yankees players person homes successful the area, including Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Austin Wells.

"When you’re successful the vigor of the playoffs and everything that we’re playing for, there’s ever doses of position that travel successful and bash that," Boone said earlier the team's 3-2 triumph successful Kansas City Wednesday. "Everyone that knows that we person a fistful of guys evidently that person places down determination oregon are based there, and it’s an uncertain time."

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Judge is the listed owner of an $800,000, 2,480-square-foot condo successful Tampa Bay that helium bought successful 2018. 

The players, including Judge, who has struggled, volition person to bare that uncertainty for the clip being. The Yankees skipper volition person to refocus successful a hostile situation amid a historically atrocious agelong of postseason play Thursday night. 

With an 0-for-4 crippled that included different strikeout Wednesday night, Judge took implicit sole possession of the highest strikeout complaint successful MLB postseason past astatine 34.3%. He has not deed a location run, nor does helium person an RBI done the archetypal 3 games of the series. And helium is 1-for-11 with 5 strikeouts. His postseason batting mean dropped to .203 Wednesday. 

The Yankees won't beryllium backmost location successful New York astatine the earliest until Friday. They play Game 4 against the Royals Thursday nighttime with a accidental to triumph the series. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr., right, of the New York Yankees greets Aaron Judge earlier Game 3 of a part bid against the Kansas City Royals astatine Kauffman Stadium Oct. 9, 2024, successful Kansas City, Mo. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Yankees person taken their bid pb via a brace of choky one-run wins successful Game 1 and Game 3. However, the squad has besides displayed aggregate vulnerabilities against a squad with a payroll that is little than a 3rd of the Yankees'. 

Ace pitcher Gerrit Cole and chap high-end starter Carlos Rodón had atrocious outings successful Games 1 and 2. Starting shortstop Anthony Volpe has made aggregate costly errors successful the archetypal 3 games that person resulted successful Royals runs. 

First baseman Anthony Rizzo is besides retired owed to wounded this season, leaving backups Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti to clasp down that position. Neither has been the quality shaper Rizzo typically is erstwhile he's playing well. 

The squad volition look to flooded each of those issues portion worrying astir imaginable historical hurricane damage. They are conscionable 1 triumph distant from reaching the ALCS, which they would big for the archetypal clip since 2012 if they tin decision Kansas City.

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