Dodgers Are Voicing Concerns About Yankees’ Key Issues: “Talent Over Fundamentals”
It can be argued that the New York Yankees made it to Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers largely due to their star power rather than their execution of the fundamentals of the game.
Throughout the 2024 season, the Yankees faced scrutiny over their defense, baserunning, and overall hustle, prompting manager Aaron Boone to publicly defend the team’s performance. These recurring errors raised concerns among fans and media about their ability to compete against stronger teams in critical situations. The importance of the details cannot be overlooked.
After the Yankees’ season came to a close with a 7-6 loss, marked by a disastrous fifth inning filled with errors, it became clear that the Dodgers had recognized the Yankees’ weaknesses as well.
“They started kicking the ball around and playing Yankee defense,” remarked Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly, who humorously referred to Fat Joe’s appearance on the scoreboard that inning as a “curse” during the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. He recalled telling teammate Brent Honeywell, “The Fat Joe curse, watch,” as the Yankees began to falter.
According to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, the Dodgers anticipated being able to exploit the Yankees’ flaws by simply making them play the game. In their scouting meetings, they noted that the Yankees prioritized talent over fundamentals. They believed that aggressive baserunning would lead the Yankees to make self-inflicted mistakes, as highlighted by players like Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, and Freddie Freeman. The Dodgers emphasized the importance of putting the ball in play to force the Yankees into errors.
Sherman also reported that the Dodgers’ metrics showed the Yankees had the worst positioned outfield, expressing astonishment at the frequency of relay throws going awry and players like Jazz Chisholm Jr. being out of position during critical plays.
In that pivotal fifth inning, the Yankees had a 5-0 lead. However, ten batters later, the game was tied 5-5, with all the Dodgers’ runs being unearned. The Yankees committed two errors during that inning (three overall, including a catcher’s interference later) and ace Gerrit Cole failed to cover first base on a ground ball to Anthony Rizzo, which could have limited the damage. The collapse began when center fielder Aaron Judge misplayed a fly ball from Tommy Edman, leading to his first error of the season, and continued with shortstop Anthony Volpe’s mishandled throw to third base.
