As much as Major League Baseball and Fox Sports were rooting for a lengthy World Series to drive ratings, revenue, and interest, it was cut short by a disastrous Yankees meltdown in Game 5. In the end, the Dodgers secured the series-clinching victory to secure their eighth championship.
The Yankees looked to be cruising with a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning on the way to forcing a Game 6 and sending the series back to Los Angeles before it all fell apart. First it was Aaron Judge dropping the ball, then a throwing error by Anthony Volpe. Worst of all was the inexplicable decision by starter Gerrit Cole to not cover first base on a ground ball to Anthony Rizzo. Instead of ending the inning, it led to five Dodgers runs to tie the game.
Incredibly, the Yankees somehow recovered to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth. However, two Dodgers runs in the eighth on back-to-back sacrifice flys were decisive enough to hold on for a 7-6 win. Even that was aided by an incredibly rare catcher’s interference call on a Shohei Ohtani swing.
In spite of it not being the sole reason for the Yankees defeat due to what happened in the later innings, everyone’s focus was on the historic collapse. Even Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez called it a “meltdown” on the Fox postgame show. And the back pages of the major New York tabloids were all prepared to add insult to injury.
Gonna give this one to Newsday, I think. pic.twitter.com/GHVucZ6sD5
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) October 31, 2024
The Yankees still haven’t won a World Series since 2009. And with Juan Soto’s free agent destination up to the highest bidder, who knows how straight the path will be for the Bronx Bombers to return to the Fall Classic.
[Craig Calcaterra]
