Judge: Losing World Series 'will stick with me until I die'

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge doesn't expect to get over losing the World Series any time soon.

"I think falling short in the World Series will stick with me until I die, probably," he said after the deciding Game 5 on Wednesday, per SNY.

"Just like every other loss, those things don't go away. They're battle scars along the way, and, hopefully, when my career is over, we've got a lot of battle scars, but also a lot of victories along the way, too."

The Yankees lost 7-6 after jumping out to an early 5-0 lead. They appeared well on their way to forcing a Game 6 in Los Angeles before giving the Dodgers life on a series of defensive miscues.

New York rallied back to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth but ultimately couldn't recover after the Dodgers pulled ahead in the eighth.

However, Judge remains optimistic about the Yankees' future.

"We've got something special here," he said, according to SNY. "I know this is only gonna fuel a lot of the guys, fuel me especially. I want to be on the other side of it, that's for sure."

Judge homered, doubled, and walked twice in Game 5 after struggling mightily during the previous four contests.

The presumptive AL MVP finished the postseason with a disappointing .184/.344/.408 slash line. He drove in just three runs in the World Series after leading MLB with 144 RBIs during the regular season.

The Yankees' chances at returning to the World Series likely hinge on whether Juan Soto re-signs in free agency. The superstar will command one of the most lucrative deals in league history.

"He brought us a lot of joy. I think we brought him a lot of joy as well," Judge said of Soto, per SNY. "We were lucky to have him for this year."

Judge has posted a .768 OPS in 58 career playoff games.