The Yankees dos and donts that come with Aaron Judges long-awaited return

Camera operators flocked to the outskirts of the Yankees dugout steps, forming two parallel lines that allowed enough space for the main attraction to squeeze between them.They trained their devices on the tunnel below and waited, the only thing missing was a red carpet. And then the celebrity that is Aaron Judge, attempting to repress a grin, jogged up the steps, darted through the flashes and made his way to the batting cage to a few cheers from the handful of fans already in the Stadium several hours before Tuesday’s game in The Bronx.

Manager Aaron Boone did not bother suppressing his emotions, wearing a wide smile as he watched his captain take seemingly routine batting practice.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.It was not normal, of course, because the scene had not been seen since May.

But exactly 100 days after he played his last game, Judge returned to the Yankees and brought their World Series hopes with him. Officially activated a day earlier, Judge played right field and batted third as the Yankees opened a series with the Rockies, the start of a 19-game sprint to the end of the regular season for the club and more of a speed walk, then jog, then sprint for No.99. Judge did not quite return as Aaron Judge.

After an expedited rehab process that did not include a trip to the minor leagues — he only took live at-bats against a couple of minor leaguers Monday, which became the last box he had to check — he is set to build up his body on the fly in the major leagues. That meant he was not expected to play the entirety of Tuesday’s game “even though he wants to,” Boone said.That means Judge likely will not play all three of the games against Colorado.

That means Judge probably will not be diving in the outfield, at least until the postseason. “We’ll adjust each night [from] what we see,” Boone said, “and want to build him u...