The feeling all along, lying under the surface for baseball fans who may not have even realized they were thinking it, is that eventually, Judge has to drop further away from .400

Once again, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge will skip the Home Run Derby this year, he told reporters Thursday. Judge won the Home Run Derby in 2017, his rookie year, and has not participated in it since. "Nope. Same answer," Judge told Newsday when asked about the Home Run Derby on Thursday. "Only if I'm talking about it here [in New York]."

It’s been the same story for years now. Aaron Judge may be the most prolific home run hitter we've seen in decades, but the New York Yankees slugger is not interested in participating in the Home Run Derby -- unless the event comes to Yankee Stadium. Newsday beat writer Erik Boland confirmed Judge’s stance on Thursday as All-Star voting began.