KANSAS CITY — As the Yankees celebrated their ALDS win behind the mound at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday night, Bobby Witt Jr. stood alone in the Royals’ dugout.
With his arms folded and his head resting over a railing, the Kansas City superstar watched in sorrow as the Bombers began a party on his home turf. A few fans sitting nearby mourned the end of the Royals’ season alongside Witt, but the shortstop made for a party of one within the dugout.
Bobby Witt Jr. hasn’t left the dugout. Watching the Yankees’ celebration. pic.twitter.com/R4yiZpRPXk
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) October 11, 2024
Roughly a year ago, the Yankees found themselves in a similar place.
In 2023, the Bombers failed to make the playoffs after injuries and underachievers produced a “disaster” of a season, as Brian Cashman put it. The Yankees knew they wouldn’t be heading to the postseason well before their last series in Kansas City ended with a loss, but having their campaign conclude with Game 162 at Kauffman Stadium still stung.
That pain remained on Thursday hours before the Yankees punched their ticket to the ALCS.
“In ’23, our season ended here,” Aaron Judge, soaked in champagne, said in the midst of clubhouse celebration. “No postseason, no playoffs, no nothing. It’s just go home and get ready for the next season. I think a lot of guys took that to heart. There’s a video out there, quite a few guys just sitting in the dugout just watching the field, just kind of soaking it all in. And I think that’s what fueled a lot of guys to go out there and say, ‘Hey, I don’t want to have this feeling again.’”
Judge, who caught the final out of Game 4 and went 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, added that that memory sat with him “all day” on Thursday. He wasn’t the only one.
“I was here last year at the very end,” said Luke Weaver, who recorded his third save of the four-game ALDS. “We ended the season on a sour note. I wasn’t here most of the season, but I could feel it.”
Aaron Boone also noted the coincidence of the Yankees extending their 2024 run in the same spot that their 2023 season ended.
The manager said that he spoke with his team after the 2023 finale. He made Judge and Gerrit Cole, who allowed one earned run over seven innings on Thursday, a focal point of that powwow.
While the Yankees had been eliminated from playoff contention by that point, Cole was gunning for his first Cy Young award. Judge was playing banged up after tearing a ligament in his toe earlier in the season.
Boone was pleased with the way others on the team battled with those two trying to post each time they took the field. He also wanted to set the tone for 2024 as soon as he possibly could.
“As tough as last year was and not to our standard, in a lot of ways I was really proud of the group for how we finished that season,” Boone said. “That’s an easy season where it could have been mailed in.
“We talked in here after that series and it was like, ‘We know what we need to do. We know the focus we gotta have.’ And that group, they put in the work this winter to be prepared to go have a great season.”
That work, which included early arrivals to spring training, now has the Yankees awaiting the start of the ALCS. They will face the Tigers or Guardians, who have to play a decisive Game 5 on Saturday.
Boone said the team will pay close attention to that contest and be ready for either opponent with a pennant on the line.
“It means everything,” Judge said. “Since I’ve been here with the Yankees, we haven’t secured a pennant. The group that we have, how special this is, I’m just excited for this opportunity. It’s going to be something special.”
