The Yankee Stadium finally saw the World Series trophy being lifted inside it. After a 15-year wait, that elusive championship was in New York. Only, it wasn’t the New York Yankees lifting it. That’s how brutal baseball can be sometimes. However, the biggest shock came from Aaron Judge’s rollercoaster ride in game 5. One moment, everyone shouted, “Aaron Judge is back!” and just a few moments later those shouts turned to gasp.  

Since 2017, Aaron Judge has been waiting for just one thing. A thing that has been continuously snatched away from him. However, the pain of 2024 is unlike anything Judge has experienced in his sporting career. This was the World Series, he was entering October as a hot MVP favorite. All the stars were seemingly aligned and then, it all came crashing down. More importantly, Judge failed right when his team needed him the most. That pain is blinding and it was visible from his interview after the game.

“I think falling short in the World Series will stick with me until I die, probably,” Aaron Judge said, barely being able to hide his tears. With a .222 average and 3 RBIs, All Rise never really rose in the Fall Classic. game after game, he was getting closer but by the time Judge did get it on, things were already out of hand. Though, in game 5 Judge hit a home run to give the Yankees the lead, ironically, he also became the reason for that lead disappearing.

Judge couldn’t catch Tommy Edman’s line drive in the 5th inning. Normally that’s a routine play for Judge but on this day, the occasion got to him. And that opened up the floodgates that ultimately saw the Yankees’ 5-0 lead vanish to become 5-5 in just one inning. “It comes back to me. I’ve got to make the play and probably the other two don’t happen,” Judge said per New York Post. He of course referred to other mistakes by Anthony Volpe and Gerrit Cole that directly succeeded Judge’s blunder. But now the question remains – what next?

Yankees and Aaron Judge find themselves back to square one with big questions

Aaron Judge would love to forget the blunder that this postseason was for him. From being perhaps the best hitter on the planet during the regular season, All Rise became a strikeout leader in October. But while the Bronx Bombers were able to power through the American League, the World Series was just a step too far for them. And now as the season ends, the team has more questions that they’ll need to answer. Where do they go from here? What about Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres?

While Juan Soto did show emotions in the dugout immediately after the game, the 26-year-old was quick to pivot to his free-agency mode. When asked about this being his final Yankees game, Soto maintained his trademark mystery but shared how he’ll to “listen” to every team. That’s a signal as big as any that Soto won’t make things easier for Pinstripes. And as we’ve seen this season, the pair of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge was perhaps the greatest strength of the Yankees. The two combined to hit 99 home runs in the regular season. So can the Yankees look past this huge disappointment to lock in the Dominican slugger to a long-term deal?

Then comes Gleyber Torres, who made a huge comeback after a terrible first half of 2024. Torres was perhaps one of the most important cogs of the Yankees’ World Series pursuit. Are the Yankees prepared to let him walk away in this free agency? If yes, then who do they bring to replace the star’s production? The questions are many and the answers will come soon. After all, the pain of losing the World Series can only be healed by winning the next one.