Anthony Rizzo knows what it’s like to win on baseball’s biggest stage. His time with the Chicago Cubs included a World Series against Cleveland in 2016 that ended with a ring. Rizzo hit .360 with 5 RBIs and a home run in the World Series. Eight years later, at age 35, the veteran first baseman hopes to secure his second championship in the New York Yankees’ first World Series appearance since 2009.

Rizzo is one of only three Yankees players with World Series experience. Juan Soto was part of the 2019 Washington Nationals team that won the World Series. Gerrit Cole participated in the same World Series with the Houston Astros and lost to the Nationals. Manager Aaron Boone lost the World Series as a player with the Yankees in 2003 after his dramatic walk-off home run in the ALCS. Bench coach Brad Ausmus lost the World Series in 2005 while playing for the Astros.

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The Yankees will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 World Series in a highly anticipated heavyweight matchup. Since most of Rizzo’s teammates haven’t been to a World Series before, he gets asked a lot what it’s like. His answer is: “That World Series (2016) was perhaps one of the best World Series ever. Now I get to participate in another one, which could turn out to be one of the best World Series ever.” One World Series experience left a desire for more.

Rizzo almost missed it. After breaking two fingers on his right hand at the end of the MLB regular season, he was forced to miss the ALDS during his recovery. Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti platooned at first base in Rizzo’s absence.

When the Yankees advanced to the ALCS, Rizzo refused to let his injury keep him from the big series. His fingers are still broken and he suffers from swelling between games, but Rizzo plays through the pain with the help of adrenaline. Just a few weeks removed from taking a pitch in hand, he hit .429 in 14 at-bats in the ALCS. He looks to continue his postseason success in the World Series.

In his second World Series trip, Rizzo is taking nothing for granted. He understands the weight of the series. “You live and die every moment,” he told ESPN. “You have memories for a lifetime with the guys you are with. You can’t replace that with anything.” A team is a family, and Rizzo felt at home with the Yankees over the past four seasons.

Rizzo is ready to write a new World Series story. The Yankees open the series Friday night at Dodger Stadium.