‘Gotta carry it like a battle scar’: Can Yankees bounce back from fifth-inning World Series nightmare?
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Jorge Castillo
TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Boone’s first message to the 2025 New York Yankees, delivered at Steinbrenner Field in mid-February when all uniformed personnel were still beardless and an ulnar collateral ligament had not yet torpedoed their ace’s season, was about hunger. Having the hunger to win. Fighting for it.
“It’s not just a given,” said Boone, who is entering his eighth season as the team’s manager. “The early indications tell me I do think we have an edge to us, a purpose to what we’re doing. But it’s early. We gotta live that.”
For the Yankees, and their fan base, expectations never fluctuate. It’s forever World Series or disappointment, and disappointment has punctuated each of the past 15 seasons.
That appetite spiked coming off a 2023 season in which the Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. This season, the hunger is amplified by a vastly different result in 2024: The Yankees reached the World Series only to squander a five-run lead in a home elimination game against the Los Angeles Dodgers — with one of the worst defensive innings in postseason history.
Baseball is a sport that requires people to constantly flush away inevitable failure to move on to the next pitch, the next at-bat, the next game. But, as Boone knows, failure can also serve as a motivator. His players are learning all about that, too.
“I think some of those things, some of those feelings you don’t necessarily get over ever,” 23-year-old shortstop Anthony Volpe said. “But I think our team and our clubhouse has done a pretty good job of using those things and those feelings to push us to new heights and new things. I think the best part is I don’t think we’ll ever get over that.”
The inning-long disaster gave way to an equally long offseason: seeing Juan Soto defect to the rival New York Mets in free agency this winter, losing ace Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery this spring. Now, with a reshuffled roster, the Yankees will look to move forward, starting with their season opener Thursday at Yankee Stadium against the Milwaukee Brewers.
How do the players — and the franchise — bounce back?
“When you mess up a couple of times in one game, especially in the biggest game of the year, it sucks,” Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “Then that brings in the hunger for this year. Like everybody is ready to roll. Everybody’s super excited. Everybody’s locked in.”
THE TEAM THAT plays Thursday in the Bronx will be very different from the one that took the field on the eve of Halloween, the last time Yankee Stadium hosted a baseball game.
That night, the fifth-inning debacle — made possible by three two-out miscues, opening the door for the Dodgers to score five runs — did not ultimately cost the Yankees the World Series. New York rallied and led 6-5 entering the bottom of the eighth inning before fumbling another lead. But it is the infamous fifth inning’s sequence of events — Judge dropping a routine fly ball in center field, Volpe committing a throwing error, Cole not covering first base on a ground ball to Anthony Rizzo that should’ve ended the inning without a run scored — that will be remembered.
“I mean, it’s tough,” Cole said. “Just gotta carry it like a battle scar.”
Said Boone: “I feel like it’s going to sting forever. And that’s what I said to the guys immediately after the game. Hard for me to say if the way it happened, if that makes it sting any more. I don’t know. Getting to where we got to and the amount of success we had last year and not finishing it off, it hurts.”
Baseball history is littered with postseason collapses. Several of them have happened in New York, including in 2003 at the old Yankee Stadium, when Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little stuck with Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning with a 5-3 lead in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The decision backfired. The Yankees rallied to tie the game and, in the 11th inning, Boone — then a Yankees infielder — clubbed a Tim Wakefield knuckleball into the left-field stands to send New York to the World Series.
But Boston proved you can reach the summit after hitting rock bottom — the Red Sox exacted their revenge in the ALCS against the Yankees the next year by becoming the first team in major league history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.
“Losing Game 7 [in 2003] was devastating, and it’s hard not to have that linger a little while into the offseason,” said Miami Marlins assistant general manager Gabe Kapler, an outfielder on both the 2003 and 2004 Red Sox teams. “And we definitely felt like we were as good or were better than the Yankees in 2003. We made some important additions in that offseason, and we felt like going into 2004 we were poised to make a run.”
In the days after the World Series, the Yankees received another dose of motivation. Members of the Dodgers emptied a saltshaker on an open wound when they criticized the Yankees in various podcast interviews, pointing out that they entered the series expecting to exploit New York’s subpar defense and baserunning. Around this time, too, bumper stickers of the Fox score bug from the fifth inning — showing the Yankees up 5-0 with two outs — went viral.
Jon Berti, a Yankee in 2024 who signed with the Chicago Cubs during the offseason, said Dodgers players “disrespected” the Yankees with their criticism. Boone said he hopes his team will handle winning the World Series “with a little more class” if it does so. Yankees reliever Luke Weaver said he didn’t understand the motivation for the comments. Other Yankees steered clear.
“What am I going to say?” said Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, the reigning AL MVP. “You win, you can kind of say whatever you want. If you don’t like it, you got to play better.”
The Yankees won for most of the 2024 season, finishing with an AL-leading 94-66 record before knocking off the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians to claim the pennant.
“I think there’s a blend of like, pride and confidence for how well we played, for how long we played,” said Cole, who will act as an unofficial pitching coach this season while he recovers from surgery. “And then there’s like a little chip. There’s like a little edge. So it’s a nice blend of like, ‘Hey, we know we’re good. We know we can get back there.'”
The Yankees’ attempt to return will come in a wide-open American League. PECOTA, Baseball America’s widely cited projection system, predicts the Yankees will finish with 85 wins, enough for a third-place finish in the competitive AL East, the seventh-best record in the AL and a 51.1% chance of making the playoffs.
This year, they will rely on a new group of veterans — headlined by lefty ace Max Fried, All-Star closer Devin Williams and former MVPs Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt — and a wave of young position players — Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, Austin Wells and Ben Rice will begin the season as regulars — to absorb Soto’s departure and a rash of injuries. And to become that last team standing, they’ll have to play better when it matters most.
“In my two seasons, I think there’s always been laser focus,” Volpe said. “But I think there’s probably just that little — I mean, a pretty big chip on everyone’s shoulder.”
THIS OFFSEASON WAS full of change for the Yankees — and represented a shift in their place in the landscape of Major League Baseball. The Dodgers, not the Yankees, are now the organization irking owners around the sport with their lavish spending, again positioning themselves as World Series favorites with a lucrative revenue stream from Japan and a projected payroll more than double that of 16 other teams, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Meanwhile, the Mets lured Soto to Queens after his sensational season in the Bronx — a previously unthinkable notion for the little brother franchise in the decades before billionaire Steve Cohen bought it.
Even the Yankees’ traditions have changed. Last month, hours before the club’s Grapefruit League opener, owner Hal Steinbrenner announced a modification to the organization’s long-standing facial hair policy — since 1976, beards had been outlawed, with free agent signees famously changing their signature looks upon becoming Yankees. “Well-groomed beards” are now allowed, though the definition of “well-groomed” remains unclear.
Days later, the team confirmed — in the wake of the Dodgers celebrating their World Series title to the song on the field at Yankee Stadium last fall — that Frank Sinatra’s rendition of the theme from “New York, New York” will be played only after wins. The song — for several years Liza Minnelli’s version was used after losses — had been played after all Yankees home games since 1980.
Of course, much remains the same. The oft-stated win-or-bust goal stands. And the Yankees’ projected payroll is again more than $300 million, fourth in the majors.
Upon hearing Soto’s decision, GM Brian Cashman sprang into action, making a series of moves in December to overhaul the roster. The Yankees signed Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract two days after Soto chose the Mets. Williams, strikeout specialist Fernando Cruz, Bellinger and Goldschmidt were acquired over the next 10 days. The front office didn’t spend enough to fix everything — upgrading third base remains unchecked on the list of priorities — but the transactions raised the team’s floor.
“I think we addressed some needs or some deficiencies more so than we would’ve been able to had we brought Juan back,” Boone said. “But there’s a lot of different ways to do it. And I think if it has to be one way, you limit yourself a little bit.”
Regardless, a series of blows this spring is already testing the team’s depth.
Losing Cole leaves the Yankees’ projected top-tier rotation without its No. 1 option. Luis Gil, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, will miss at least the first two months with a lat strain. Clarke Schmidt will begin the season on the injured list with a balky back.
With those three sidelined, Carlos Rodon will be the team’s No. 2 starter and will get the ball for Thursday’s season opener. Marcus Stroman, who reported to camp not expected to make the rotation, will begin the season as the No. 3 starter. Will Warren, a 25-year-old rookie, and Carlos Carrasco, a 38-year-old non-roster invitee to spring training, round out the group.
Giancarlo Stanton, who, alongside Soto, powered the Yankees’ postseason run with a Herculean October, has torn tendons in both of his elbows and will miss substantial time, if not the whole year. Their veteran third-base option, DJ LeMahieu, is hurt again. Other concerns include Dominguez’s defense in left field and a shortage of right-handed hitters to better balance the lineup.
“All you’re trying to do is create that type of momentum to when you finally get everything you want, it’s on the right trajectory,” Weaver said. “So it’s kind of weathering the storm, so to speak, in order to hopefully see that rainbow.”
The Yankees, as they have done in each of the past four years, could acquire a player in the final days leading up to the start of the regular season to bolster the roster. Last season, in need of a third baseman, they traded for Berti the day before Opening Day.
“I think we have a good team,” Cashman said, “and we look forward to testing it when we deploy March 27th.”
The 2025 Yankees will undoubtedly be tested. By the injuries. By the rest of the American League. By the weight of what happened during — and since — Game 5.
“You think about any loss, you can’t really sit there and dwell on it,” Judge said. “Whether it’s losing Game 1 or losing Game 5, a loss is a loss. We just didn’t do our job.”
The first day of the 2025 MLB draft is complete! The Washington Nationals selected Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick, opting for the prep shortstop — who might be more likely to sign below slot — in a draft with no clear-cut top prospect. And there were plenty of other intriguing selections as the first three rounds unfolded Sunday night.
The Seattle Mariners had to have been thrilled to have Kiley McDaniel’s No. 1-ranked prospect, Kade Anderson, fall to them at No. 3, and Ethan Holliday was selected at No. 4 by his famous father’s former squad the Colorado Rockies.
We asked ESPN baseball insiders Alden Gonzalez, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield to break down their favorite and most head-scratching moves of the draft’s first night, as well as to predict which players will bring the most to their new teams in the long term.
A lot of us were thrown for a loop by the first two selections. What do you make of the Nationals taking Ethan Willits at No. 1 and the Angels picking Tyler Bremner at No. 2?
Gonzalez: I was stunned on both accounts. Though there was definitely some uncertainty around the Nationals’ approach, especially since the firing of GM Mike Rizzo, I didn’t see anybody, anywhere, projecting Willits to be their choice at No. 1 overall. But the Angels drafting Bremner was an even bigger risk. Kiley had him 18th in his latest ranking. Six pitchers were ranked ahead of him. But Bremner might be someone who can rise and impact their major league roster quickly, and the Angels are always looking for that.
Rogers: The first two picks really summed up the uncertainty of the entire draft. The Nationals’ faith in a 17-year-old will be tested over the coming years, but the pick will likely save them some money for later in this draft and give Willits time to grow. The same can be said of many of the top picks: They’re going to need time. There are far fewer sure things this year — though Bremner could be the exception. The Angles love to graduate their players quickly, and as a college arm, he could see the majors sooner rather than later. Like Willits, this could also be a cost-saving move for later spending.
Schoenfield: In a draft that not only lacked a sure-thing No. 1 overall pick but was viewed as weaker at the top than those of recent years, it’s perhaps not a huge surprise that the Nationals and Angels used their picks to strike likely underslot deals with Willits and Bremner, giving them money to spend later in the draft — which they can use on high school prospects who might have slipped, trying to buy them out from going to college. It’s a strategy teams have used with success over the years, so the drafts for the Nationals and Angels will have to be viewed in their totality and not just focused on these two players.
What was your favorite pick of the night — and which one had you scratching your head?
Gonzalez: The Rockies have done a lot of things wrong over these last few … uh, decades. But it was really cool to see them take Ethan Holliday at No. 4 after his father, Matt, starred in Colorado for so long. Outside of the top two picks, Ethan Conrad going 17th to the Cubs was my biggest surprise of the night. Kiley had him ranked 30th; others had him falling out of the first round entirely. There’s uncertainty coming off shoulder surgery. But Conrad, 21, put up a 1.238 OPS in 97 plate appearances before his season ended prematurely in March. And the dearth of college bats probably influenced a slight reach here.
Rogers: I’m loving Billy Carlson to the White Sox at No. 10. Though they lost 121 games last season, Chicago couldn’t pick higher than this spot per CBA rules — but the Sox might have gotten a top-five player. Carlson’s defense will play extremely well behind a sneaky good and young pitching staff that should keep the ball on the ground in the long term. Meanwhile, with the pick of the litter when it came to hitters — college outfielders and high school kids as well — the Pirates took a high school pitcher at No. 6. Seth Hernandez could be great, but they need hitting. A lot of it.
Schoenfield: The Mariners reportedly wanted LSU left-hander Kade Anderson all along, but they certainly couldn’t have been expecting to get him with the third pick. (Keep in mind that the Mariners were lucky in the first place to land the third pick in the lottery, so they added some good fortune on top of good luck.) They get the most polished college pitcher in the draft, one who should move quickly — and perhaps make it a little easier for Jerry Dipoto to dip into his farm system and upgrade the big league roster at the trade deadline. Even though I understand why the Angels did it, Bremner still seems a little questionable. With the second pick, you want to go for a home run, and the consensus is that Holliday or even Anderson is more likely to be a more impactful major leaguer. Bremner’s lack of a third plus pitch is an issue, and you have to wonder if the Angels are relying too much on his control — which, yes, should allow him to get to the majors — and ignoring the possible lack of upside.
Who is the one player you’d like to plant your flag on as the biggest steal of this draft?
Gonzalez: Seth Hernandez, who went sixth to the Pirates and should someday share a rotation with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. High school pitchers are incredibly risky, especially when taken so early in the draft. But Hernandez is a great athlete who already throws hard, boasts a plus changeup and showed improvement with his breaking ball this spring. He’ll go the Hunter Greene route, from standout high school pitcher to major league ace.
Rogers: Jamie Arnold will look like a steal at No. 11, especially when he debuts in the majors well before many of the players taken around him. I’m not worried about the innings drop in 2025 — not when he was striking out 119 hitters and walking just 27. The A’s need to polish him up but will be pleased by how consistent he’ll be. You can’t go wrong with a college lefty from an ACC school — at least, the A’s didn’t.
Schoenfield: I’m going with Billy Carlson with the 10th pick — with the admitted caveat that the White Sox haven’t exactly been stellar at developing hitters. But Carlson looks like an elite defensive shortstop with plus power, and that alone can make him a valuable major leaguer. If the hit tool comes along, we’re looking at a potential star. OK, he’s Bobby Witt Jr. lite? That’s still an All-Star player.
What’s your biggest takeaway from Day 1 of this draft?
Gonzalez: The Nationals throwing a wrench into the proceedings by selecting Willits. It was a surprising choice, but in their minds an easy one. Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo called Willits the best hitter and best fielder available. And in a draft devoid of can’t-miss, high-impact talent, Willits is no doubt a solid pick — a polished hitter who should stick at shortstop and might consistently hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases at a premium position. He also might come under slot, allowing flexibility later in the draft. But his selection is what allowed Anderson to reach the Mariners at No. 3 and prompted the Rockies to draft Holliday at No. 4, among other dominoes. It set a really interesting tone.
Rogers: Things change quickly in baseball. Whereas college hitters are usually the safest bets early in the draft, this year high school position players dominated. (And they all play shortstop, at least for now.) Athleticism has returned to baseball, and draft rooms are acting accordingly.
Schoenfield: I’m agreeing with Jesse. The selection of that many prep shortstops stood out — and they all seem to hit left-handed and run well, and some of them have big power potential and a cannon for an arm. Look, the hit tool is the most important and the hardest to scout and project, so not all these kids are going to make it, but their potential is exciting and, to Jesse’s point, their wide range of tools is showing that baseball is still drawing top athletes to the sport.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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