‘Judgey, did I score?’
For a few hours on Monday night, everything was going right for the Yankees. And then it wasn’t. In the ninth inning of what had been a feel-good win in Seattle, the mood turned in an instant. Oswaldo Cabrera, the ever-smiling utility man who’s become a clubhouse favorite for his heart and hustle, lay flat on the dirt at home plate, his ankle twisted the wrong way.
He had just scored on a sacrifice fly, dodging the catcher to avoid a tag, but when he planted and turned back toward the plate, his ankle gave out. The stadium fell silent. The air cast came out. And minutes later, the 25-year-old was being stretchered off the field, surrounded by medical staff and stunned teammates.
There are moments in a season that remind you how fragile the joy of this game can be. This was one of them.
“He shows up every day with the right attitude,” said Trent Grisham, visibly emotional in the clubhouse afterward. “He plays the game hard, and he’s the best person off the field.” Grisham, who’s only been teammates with Cabrera for a year, had to pause to wipe a tear.
Aaron Boone echoed the sentiment, his voice thick with emotion.
“He’s the best of people you’re going to come across,” the Yankees manager said. “The kind of teammate that he is, the joy he walks into this room with every single day… He’s an example in so many ways for anyone to look to, of how to go about living their lives. Your heart breaks any time something serious happens. And all of us, and you guys too, know Oswaldo Cabrera and what a special person he is.”
For a player who’s made a career out of doing the little things, the sacrifices, the energy, the versatility, it was a cruel twist of fate. But even as he was being loaded into an ambulance, Cabrera couldn’t help but be himself.
“Before he got on,” Boone recalled with a bittersweet smile, “he kinda said, ‘Judgey, did I score?’ And Judgey said, ‘Yeah.’ So that made him smile.”
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In a moment filled with paid, Waldo still found a way to make others laugh. That’s who he is.
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