NEW YORK – The wound was still fresh, the disappointment too great. For New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, thinking about tomorrow might have felt like it was too far in the future. He had felt this pain before. It had been 21 years since his last and only time in a World Series, when the Yankees lost to the Florida Marlins. All this time later, that emptiness was back. He had lost the World Series again.

“I’m 51,” he said. “I dedicated my life to this.”

When the subject of Boone's future came up, he became slightly tense. He placed both elbows on the table. He wrapped his arms around his chest like a man bracing for impact. Less than an hour earlier, Boone watched from his usual spot on the dugout steps as the Yankees lost 7-6 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a crucial Game 5.

The final guaranteed year of Boone's contract had just ended. The Yankees can activate an option in his contract that would keep him through 2025, or they could move on. When would he allow himself to think about his own future?

“We’ll see,” he said. “I don't know.”

Boone had a lot at stake in this World Series, even if it wasn't necessarily about his job security.

Aaron Boone talks about Gerrit Cole's performance, as Juan Soto's manager and against Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. pic.twitter.com/FPM7TWjS0O

– YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 31, 2024

By winning the pennant, he likely at least lowered the decibel level of his biggest critics, who often pointed out that he had lost in both of his previous American League Championship Series appearances since taking over as Yankees captain in 2018.

There has been no public word on whether the Yankees are considering moving on from him. General manager Brian Cashman said at the start of the playoffs that the club was “pleased” with him as manager. Before many postseason games – at home and on the road – owner Hal Steinbrenner visited Boone's office and asked him about the status of the team.

But Boone certainly knows how things work in the Bronx. A World Series victory — ending the franchise's 15-year losing streak — would have given him a reputation among Yankees fans for the rest of his life. Boone's two most recent predecessors – Joe Torre and Joe Girardi – each won championships, and no matter how tumultuous their tenures were, they are largely remembered fondly today.

Boone doesn't have a ring. This year he was closer than ever before. The Yankees held a 5-0 lead until the fifth inning of Game 5 before it all came crashing down due to the sloppy play that has plagued the club all season. Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe made uncharacteristic errors, and Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo both seemingly made mental errors on the same groundball that led to the run that sparked a five-run Dodgers rally. A win would have forced the first-ever Game 6 in a World Series in which a club took a 3-0 lead.

“I am heartbroken,” he said.

Boone said he feels bad for his players.

“The ending is cruel,” he said. “It always is. I didn’t feel like I was celebrating and going home.”

Boone partied a lot. He has the second-best winning percentage (317-212, .599) among active managers, behind only his World Series counterpart Dave Roberts (529-327, .618). He made the playoffs in six of his seven seasons leading the Yankees.

In the clubhouse after the loss, Yankees players explained what they thought of Boone.

“He always had our backs,” Judge said. “He was always there for us. He always put us in the best situations day after day. He's a guy that every single person in this room will run through the wall for. The culture we have here is special, and that starts with him at the top.”

This season, some predicted turmoil in the Yankees clubhouse following the winter additions of Marcus Stroman and Alex Verdugo and the acquisition of Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the trade deadline. But other than a small argument Stroman had with second baseman Gleyber Torres earlier in the year, it seemed like there was going to be little conflict within the team.

“In this position,” Judge said, “we wouldn’t have had as good a fit with the people we brought in if it wasn’t for a manager like him who really brought us all together.”

Verdugo had a publicly difficult relationship with his former manager Alex Cora in Boston.

(Boone) means a lot,” Verdugo said. “He was behind me. He always counted on me. He always knew I was going to play hard, even when I was probably in my worst trouble and worst offensive trouble.”

“Boonie is the man,” Giancarlo Stanton said. “I know how much he cares about us (and) how invested he is in this.”

“Take care of his players,” Cole said. “That’s what you want to play for as a manager.”

Late into the night Wednesday, Boone strolled around the clubhouse, still wearing a hoodie and baseball pants, the outfit he had worn during the game. Maybe it was out of habit. Boone often checks in with players before they leave for the night. But this time there would be no tomorrow, and although it seemed likely that he would get another vaccination next year, it didn't ease the pain.

“That’s as close as you can get,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

(Top photo by Aaron Boone: Alex Slitz/Getty Images)