For the second straight year, we have online drama surrounding Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees.

Entering the 2022 season, Judge and the Yankees were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension, meaning that Judge would have the opportunity to test the free agent market following season's end. After the Yankees fell to the Houston Astros in the ALCS, a few Internet sleuths discovered that Judge had severed his social media ties with New York...again.

Is the reality of the situation as bad as it may seem?

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Fans React to News that Aaron Judge Doesn't Follow New York on Instagram

For the second straight year, fans of the New York Yankees are up-in-arms after reports surfaced that superstar slugger Aaron Judge had unfollowed the team on Instagram.

The realization was first discovered by ABC 7 NY reporter, Ryan Field:

That photo led other fans to head to their Instagram page, and search for themselves. Once they also realized that Judge no longer followed the Yankees, that's when concern began to grow among Yankees' fans who patrolled the Internet.

It wasn't until Talkin' Yanks, the Yankee-specific section of Jomboy Media, came to the rescue that we all realized that wasn't a new thing:

According to the Talkin' Yanks account, Judge has either never followed the Yankees on Instagram, or at least, hasn't followed them for a while. The screenshot shared on their account was one from the summer of 2021, before Judge and New York began their most recent cycle of negotiations.

Yankees' slugger Aaron Judge / Getty Images
Yankees' slugger Aaron Judge / Getty Images
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So, for the time being, there's no reason to worry if you're a fan of the New York Yankees. Yes, Aaron Judge is almost certainly headed to free agency following the conclusion of the 2022 World Series. Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be involved, and the San Francisco Giants "won't be outbid" for his services.

That said, #99 is the cornerstone of the New York Yankees, and it's fair to say that the reputations of Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner will be impacted by this negotiation, for better or for worse. They certainly won't go down without a fight.

Aaron Judge may end up leaving for another team, but if he does, he hasn't left any clues about it on his social media accounts.

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