Why was Aaron Judge AWOL during Yankees’ introductions? What we know

NEW YORK — Yankees fans broke into a loud cheer when they heard Giancarlo Stanton 's name during Tuesday night's player introductions as they watched the slugger pop out of the first base dugout and jog to the first base foul line.

One Yankees player was missing when Yankee Stadium PA announcer Paul Ogden announced the non-starters, injured players and taxi squad.

Where was Aaron Judge before the start of the Yankees' 9-0 Game 1 rout of the Red Sox ?

The non-starters were presented in numerical order, so first up was No. 12 Trent Grisham , who went from the IL to a backup center fielder role. Next was No. 13 Jazz Chisholm , who was on the bench with Anthony Volpe at second base.

Judge, who was unsuccessful in lobbying the Yankees to cut short his IL stint, should have been announced last.

No. 99's reception likely would have rivaled the loudest of the night — Game 1 starting pitcher Cam Schlittler 's — had he been introduced

One Yankees player told NJ.com after the game that he didn't realize Judge was absent.

Whatever the reason, Judge joined his teammates in the dugout for the game. On a chilly fall night, he wore a hoodie while watching the game from the dugout rail.

After the Yankees won, Judge was out on the field shaking hands and smiling with teammates.

Judge has made a lot of progress rehabbing his strained right calf in the last week, but the Yankees had no choice but to keep him off their 26-man roster.

Judge did not hit a ball out of the infield in four live BP at-bats during Monday's workout day, and he hasn't been cleared to run the bases.

"I wanted to see what he had," manager Aaron Boone said. "I was encouraged by what I saw, encouraged the fact that he's back and doing those kind of things and checked the necessary boxes he needed to with the trainers and the strength and conditioning to be in a position to do that."

If the Yankees finish off the Red Sox in Game 2 on Wednesday or Game 3 on Thursday, Judge will likely push harder to return for the next series. If the Yankees advance, they'll play a best-of-five AL Division Series against the Rays .

If the Yankees advance, Game 1 of the Division Series would be Saturday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Yankees still don't have a good idea whether Judge will be ready.

"Hopefully, these next several days for him are beneficial and he continues to move the needle," Boone said.

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