The New York Yankees’ biggest story heading into Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday was center fielder Aaron Judge’s continued postseason struggles.

After putting together another MVP-caliber regular season, Judge had a terrible offseason that saw him strike out 16 times in just 46 at-bats, hit just two home runs, and fall below .200 in the playoffs.

If this continues and the Yankees lose the series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Judge will go from hero to nought in the eyes of Yankees fans, with his legacy taking a significant hit — at least in the short term. .

Former Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez was once in the same situation, with high expectations and disappointing postseasons. Rodriguez finally changed the narrative around him by leading the Yankees to a championship in 2009.

Before Saturday’s game, Rodriguez offered some advice The money he would give to the Judge to help him get over his fear.

Stop worrying about statistics. Just focus on having a big moment. That’s what he told Joel Sherman of the New York Post before Game 2 of the series on Saturday.

“You have to separate yourself from the statistics,” Rodriguez told The Post in the hours before Game 2. “It’s just a losing proposition. One of the most overrated things in sports is October statistics. Forget 4 for 10 with four singles. If Judge does that, the Yankees go home. Better to be 2 for 14 and one with a three-run double and the other “It’s a game-changing two-run homer. You don’t need stats, you need moments. And when I realized that, it got a lot easier.”

As successful as Judge has been throughout his career, the playoffs have been a constant problem for him.

Entering play on Saturday, he’s hitting just .203 with a .753 OPS in his postseason career. For comparison, his career regular season numbers show him hitting .288 with a 1.010 OPS. It’s not even close to the same production level.

The umpire has had a chance to have big moments in the playoffs, including the big moment on Friday when Juan Soto came to the plate with two runners intentionally walking to confront him. The judge finally stormed out.

After all, Rodriguez is right. If Judge hits a big home run or two in the next few games and swings the series in the Yankees’ favor, no one in New York will care what his overall numbers look like. At some point he really needs to deliver the big shot.