Yankees' Aaron Judge ready for World Series opportunity he's been chasing since he was a rookie in 2017

In the postgame madness on the field in Cleveland late Saturday night, after the Yankees clinched their first pennant in 15 years, players were swarmed by family members and/or close friends offering hugs and congratulations.

Many of them, starting with Aaron Judge, could be heard telling them something similar.

“We ain’t done yet,” Judge told a small group around him that included his parents, Wayne and Patty.

The Yankees open the World Series Friday night against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, a matchup that will be among the most hyped in years.

And the Yankees are embracing all of the pomp and circumstance and glitz and glamour that comes with the Series.

But, as Aaron Boone said early Tuesday afternoon, his team, which worked out later at Yankee Stadium and will have a light workout at the ballpark Wednesday before departing for the West Coast, won’t be caught up in it.

“I’m sure the amount of people watching and paying attention, you’re going to draw on even more people that will watch this World Series than would otherwise watch the World Series, so you’re talking about a greater pool of people that will be interested in that. We understand that,” Boone said. “But for us, we feel like we’re going on a business trip tomorrow, whether we’re playing the Dodgers or whoever. To be able to get to the World Series and have a chance to play for a world championship. That’s what you work so far for, to have that opportunity.”

An opportunity Judge has been chasing since his rookie season in 2017 (the Yankees captain debuted in August 2016).

Before Saturday night in Cleveland, the closest Judge had ever gotten to the World Series was that first full season when the Yankees fell in seven games to the Astros in the ALCS. The following year came a Division Series loss in four games to the Red Sox, then a six-game ALCS loss to the Astros, a five-game Division Series loss to the Rays in 2020, a Wild Card game defeat to the Red Sox at Fenway Park in 2021, and another ALCS loss to Houston, this one a four-game sweep in 2022. All of those, Judge said late this season, caused him plenty of sleepless nights.

“It drives me crazy every night in the offseason when we don’t get it done,” Judge said.

Then came an 82-80 season in 2023, a come-from-nowhere playoff-less year that shook the organization to its core but a year that in many ways laid the groundwork for this season's breakthrough.

Not that it was easy, even as the Yankees finished with the AL’s best record, 94-68, in capturing the AL East crown by three games over the Orioles, the preseason favorite to win the division.

After starting the season 50-22, the Yankees struggled for much of the next three months, going 33-39 from June 15-Sept. 9. The Orioles’ nosedive in that same stretch allowed the Yankees to tread water and their finishing kick, winning 12 of their last 19 games while the Orioles continued to flounder, allowed them to take the division. The Yankees, though challenged at times in a four-game Division Series victory over the Royals and in a five-game ALCS victory over the Guardians, showed themselves to be worthy of the top seed they earned.

“The journey’s always a tough one, but I think the fun in all of this is, during the good times, the bad times, learning from them trying to improve from them so you can get to this point,” Judge said before Tuesday’s workout. “So, getting to this point, this is where the real fun starts. For years, as a kid watching the Yankees play in the World Series, win the World Series, just that excitement, the emotion and how the city comes alive is something definitely special. Looking forward to doing that with this group.”

The Yankees and Dodgers both earned their league's top seed, something in recent years that has guaranteed nothing. This marks the first full season since 2013 — when the Red Sox met the Cardinals — each league’s top seed advanced to the World Series (the Dodgers and Rays, both top seeds, met in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season).

“It’s not easy to get to this point,” Boone said. “I know well and good how hard it is to get to this point. We’re excited about it. We’ll be ready for it.”

And hoping, in the end, to take care of business.