‘Pain’ from Yankees’ 2024 World Series loss lingers with Dodgers back in Bronx

The pain hasn’t gone away. It may be somewhat dulled, but it remains.

The Dodgers returning to The Bronx this weekend — their first trip here since clinching the 2024 World Series at the Stadium — is a reminder of what could have been.

“The disappointment of getting to the end and playing for it all and coming up short, that’s one of those things that leaves a scar,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ game against the Dodgers on Saturday was rained out and will be made up on Sunday as a split doubleheader. “You want to be in a position to be in a World Series and play for it all. We had that opportunity and came up short. So there’s pain and disappointment that comes with that, and it’s part of our baseball journey.”

That World Series only went five games but was evenly played, with the Yankees blowing leads in Game 1 and Game 5.

The Yankees were up 5-0 in the clincher, but a series of errors and misplays enabled the Dodgers to rally for the crown in the Yankees’ first trip to the Fall Classic since winning it all in 2009.

The Dodgers entered this series as owners of the best record in baseball despite a number of major injuries to the likes of Edwin Díaz, Tyler Glasnow, Will Smith and Blake Snell.

They remain the heavy favorites to not only reach the World Series again but win it for the third consecutive year.

The Yankees have plenty of their own maladies, most notably Aaron Judge’s fractured right rib.

Regardless, this could end up being a World Series preview.

“Any time we play the Dodgers, whether it’s here, whether it’s in [Los Angeles], it’s always big. It always feels big,” Boone said. “There are a lot of eyeballs on it, obviously. These are the kinds of series that I think are good for the 162-[game season]. You have the grind of the 162; you have those different series that feel a little bigger. This is one of those.”