Yankees captain Aaron Judge will be thinking about the fifth inning of the 2024 World Series Game 5 for a long time.
Hopefully, he wasn't watching Sunday afternoon's NFL Week 10 matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons because broadcaster Greg Olsen casually brought it up to describe what he was seeing on the football field.
The play came in the fourth quarter with the Saints up three. Quarterback Derek Carr appeared to have Alvin Kamara lined up for what could have been a brilliant touchdown pass before Kamara dropped the ball. He didn't over- or under-run it. There was no Falcons player in his vicinity to break it up. He just dropped the ball.
“That's Aaron Judge dropping the ball in the fifth inning of the World Series,” Olsen said as the FOX broadcast showed the replay. “There's really no explanation.”
Olsen is, of course, referring to Judge's error that opened the door for the disastrous fifth inning for the Yankees in the series' deciding game. With the Yankees up 5-0 and ace Gerrit Cole cruising, Tommy Edman hit a liner to center field. Judge took his eye off the ball momentarily to check on the runner at first base, which caused him to drop it and set the Los Angeles Dodgers up for a monster inning. Another error and a mental lapse at first base later, and the Dodgers ended the inning, scoring five unearned runs to tie the game.
LA went on to win 7-5, celebrating their World Series crown on the Yankees' home field.
Aaron Judge says Yankees' failure will stick with him ‘until I die'
No one in their right mind would doubt Judge's greatness or his will to win, and that's why the AL Home Run King was so upset about that fifth inning after the game. Speaking to reporters in the immediate aftermath, he was blunt.
“I think falling short in the World Series will stick with me until I die, probably,” he said.
Judge went on to add that losses like that one stick with you, calling them “battle scars.” He explained that, hopefully, by the time his career is over, there will be plenty of big wins to accompany those scars.
The likely AL MVP is a major reason why the Yankees were able to secure the best record in the American League, clearing the way for their first pennant since 2009. But Judge has still yet to win a World Series, and that is the one unit of measure that matters in New York.
If the Yankees can retain fellow superstar Juan Soto, they'll likely be in a position to make another run at it in 2025.
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