NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge, resigned to watching the New York Yankees' latest postseason failure, stuck around the home dugout at Yankee Stadium to watch a familiar final October scene unfold: an opponent celebrating after eliminating the Yankees on their home field.
Two years ago, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers after a disastrous Game 5 of the World Series. Last year, it was the Toronto Blue Jays after Game 4 of the American League Division Series. This year, the ending arrived even sooner with the Tampa Bay Rays completing an ALDS sweep with a 4-3 win to advance to the AL Championship Series for the third time in franchise history.
"Just hating every single moment of it," Judge said. "Thinking about the whole year, thinking about missed opportunities in the season, in that series. Things that can be improved on, things I can improve on. Just hating every single moment of it so I don't forget."
The loss extended the Yankees' championship drought to 17 seasons, the second-longest skid in the franchise's storied history. For Judge, who turned 34 in April, it was his 10th full major league season without a championship parade. He continues to be the greatest player in franchise history without a World Series title on his résumé.
"There's a standard to win a championship," Judge said. "It's black and white. There's no gray area. It's every day you show up to work. Every little thing you do is, 'Are you working towards a championship or are you not?'
"So I think that's the biggest thing, is just everybody in the room understanding you got to bring it every single day. Especially here in New York, you got to bring it every single day. There's no days off and, yeah, it just comes down to the little things. Preparing every single day like you're preparing for a championship game."
Judge was not active in the Yankees' two postseason series as he failed to convince the team's brass that he was ready to play after straining his right calf Sept. 16 -- in his seventh game back after sitting out more than three months because of a fractured rib. The three-time -- and two-time defending -- AL MVP played in only 66 games this season. He batted .241 with 18 home runs and an .871 OPS.
"It definitely hurts," Judge said. "I want to be out there. Doing all the rehab, all the work, coming here early. ... It definitely hurts not getting a chance to be out there and battling."
Initially, Judge's playoff absence was not a problem. The Yankees bludgeoned the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card round for the second consecutive season, outscoring their rivals 18-2.
But Tampa Bay -- a club carrying less than a third of the Yankees' payroll -- presented a much stiffer challenge. The Rays, widely projected to finish in last place entering the season, bucked expectations to hold off New York for the AL East crown a year after playing home games at the Yankees' spring training complex while Tropicana Field was restored in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. They are a pesky group with superb pitching, premium bat-to-ball skills, and elite speed and athleticism. And, ultimately, they exposed the Yankees.
In Game 1, Drew Rasmussen lost a no-hit bid with two outs in the eighth inning. In Game 2, the Yankees made four errors, including three in the first inning, and other defensive mistakes that weren't accounted for by that tally.
For Game 3, manager Aaron Boone, after fielding the same lineups in the first two games, shook things up. He had Anthony Volpe start over Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base and Jose Caballero over Ryan McMahon at third base. He moved Trent Grisham up to the leadoff spot and dropped the scalding Ben Rice, the club's consistent hitter this postseason, to second in the order.
The result wasn't a near no-hitter or a historically ugly defensive performance. The Yankees played clean baseball. They erased two deficits and nearly came back to knot the score a third time before a crew chief's review ruled spectator interference and overturned Volpe's tying two-run home run in the sixth inning, giving him instead an RBI double.
But the Rays were just better until Grisham, with Rice on deck, whiffed on a changeup from Rays All-Star closer Bryan Baker for the 27th out.
"They beat us," Boone said. "They've obviously had a great season and get to continue on. But for us, there's just no easy way. It's a broken clubhouse."
This was Boone's eighth trip to the playoffs in nine seasons as Yankees manager, tying him with Bob Melvin for the MLB record for most postseason appearances without a World Series title. Under him, the Yankees are 7-0 in playoff series against teams with worse records during the regular season and 1-8 against teams with the same or better record.
Boone, who has one year left on his contract, said he would like to return as manager.
"I appreciate a whole lot of things, but those conversations and things are for another day," Boone said.
Several players, including Judge, spoke highly of Boone after the game. Chisholm, however, appeared irritated by Boone's decision to not start him and Boone not communicating the decision with him before he saw the lineup card Wednesday, offering a "no comment" multiple times when asked about the situation.
"It doesn't [hurt]. It's just confusing because it's the playoffs, and we're trying to win games. So you're booing a guy that's playing, currently trying to help the team win. And I'm hearing boos instead of trying to hype guys up. But at the end of the day it didn't hurt me because I've seen Aaron Judge get booed here, too. So, who am I? That's a three-time MVP." Jazz Chisholm Jr. on Yankees fans booing him
Chisholm, a free agent this offseason, entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and was loudly booed when he popped out.
"It doesn't [hurt]," said Chisholm, who went 0-for-8 with a walk in the series. "It's just confusing because it's the playoffs, and we're trying to win games. So you're booing a guy that's playing, currently trying to help the team win. And I'm hearing boos instead of trying to hype guys up. But at the end of the day it didn't hurt me because I've seen Aaron Judge get booed here, too. So, who am I? That's a three-time MVP."
Judge was one of the players to address the team in the dejected clubhouse after the game. He declined to share the specifics of his message, but he sent a message to the front office heading into an offseason with a lockout likely to begin once the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1.
"We're the Yankees," Judge said. "I feel like they should go all-in and do what they need to do and if we got holes, it's finding certain players or personnel, whatever we need, we got to go out there and get it. That's why I signed back here to play with the Yankees, is to fight for a championship every single year and go all-in. That's what I do every offseason is to get ready to give this team and this city everything I got. So I expect them to do the same."
Judge said "there's a lot of things" that need to change for the Yankees to reach their ultimate goal. Asked if the front office and ownership have gone "all-in enough" to end the drought, the 16th captain in Yankees history toed the line.
"It's tough to say," Judge said. "I want to trade for everybody, sign everybody every single year, but I know that's not realistic. So they give us a winning team every single year, but that's not good enough here in New York. We're the Yankees. We got to go out there and win championships and go all-in every year. So I'm excited to see what they do."