Fat Joe's Kiss of Death: Yankees World Series Loss
The wavy, curly, big-headed kid vividly remembers being in a roller skating rink when the Yankees won their last World Series in 2009. It was a friend's birthday party, and coming around the bend, passing by the parents hugging the railing while also trying not to smack his head on the ground for the third time, the boy saw some of the dads cheering their Miller Lites together in celebration of such an enormous feat. It was a blur. However, the boy was aware of the emotion of New York bringing home their 27th title whenever third-grade arguments at the lunch table broke out; any young fan had that debate point in the arsenal.
Fifteen years later and life coming into focus as a young adult, the Yankees made it back to the World Series. Past seasons filled with dwindling hope, falling in and out of love with the team, and buying into the false narratives were washed away. But the romantics rain down harder on fans after watching the team perform at a time when perfection is necessary, and play should look like poetry in motion.
Winning the ALCS against the Guardians 4-1 set this belief that the Yankees would steamroll to winning the Fall Classic in typical New York style—down-the-line offense and timely pitching. But something changed. What happened in the off-time leading to Game 1 of the World Series? Under the false layers of expectation, history, talent, and value, the actual team showed up to face the Dodgers.
Antony Rizzo, what a teammate, devoted son, loving husband, and father. Sometimes, a hot, oiled frying pan instead of a glove would have sufficed at first base. And yes, everyone knows Rizzo was playing with an injured hand, but putting viewers through a ruthless 26 innings of watching the former World Series champ struggling physically and mentally at a vital position was just one of the cracks in the foundation of this team.
From Game 1, at the bottom of the tenth, Aaron Boone makes the pitching change: Nestor Cortes Jr. comes in for Jake Cousins. Would anybody give the ball in the first game of the World Series to someone who went 9-10 in the regular season and tried to pump fake as a pitcher and would rather double leg kick to throw hitters' timing off than get them out with a repertoire of offspeed and power? Probably not. And then Mookie Betts is intentionally walked, leaving bases loaded with two outs for Freddie Freeman, and Nestor throws batting practice to him. Freeman hits a grand slam to win, and the Yankees are deflated and defeated moving forward.
Offensively, the Yankees showed in Game 1 a preview of what the rest of their time at the plate would be through the rest of the series, with 13 Ks as a team against the Dodgers' collective 4 Ks.
The common critique of the Yankees' offense ultimately came down to the production of the bottom of the lineup and, of course, Aaron Judge.
The All-Star outfielder put up just 1 homer throughout the 5 games, 7 strikeouts, and 4 hits in the World Series. Judge's offensive struggles were to be blamed on the knight-and-day player fans saw during the regular season versus the player caught fading away in the postseason.
From Chisholm Jr through Verdugo, Yankee fans feel more comfortable relying on something other than this bottom of the lineup to produce. Through five games, there never seemed to be an approach at the plate for these guys. Chisholm's swing only grew as the series progressed, and it looked like he was trying to hit the ball eight hundred feet at just one hundred and eighty-four pounds.
There would not be any sparks from the Yankees' bats until Game 4 in the Bronx when glimpses of the regular-season offense showed with home runs from Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, and Gleyber Torres. The Yankees win 11-4, cutting the series to 3-1, and immediately everyone brings up the 2004 Red Sox—the irony. But let's all put a bow on this idea quickly: the 2024 New York Yankees could never be the 2004 Boston Red Sox.
Onto Game 5, a packed Yankee Stadium, and the energy is confident and optimistic. The roars only grow as the Yankees gain an early 5-0 lead. The team is cruising through five innings. Gerrit Cole is dealing, and fans are ready to watch Game 6 in Los Angeles Friday night, where the reality of losing the series 3-2 is acknowledged, but toying with the thought of a comeback is fun.
Then, there is a disturbance in the force. The Nerdlucks infiltrate the game, and everything begins to fall apart. Enrique Hernandez singles to right field. Tommy Edman hits a soft sinking liner to Aaron Judge, who drops it - one out given away. Anthony Volpe makes an error on a grounder from Will Smith - two outs now given away.
And the third out given to the Dodgers that'll haunt fans through the offseason found Anthony Rizzo. Mookie Betts hits a routine ground ball to first base, Rizzo fields it, and the Nerdlucks cement his feet on the ground and throw a piano on his back. Cole takes two steps off the mound, and his brain chemistry is rewired. What is supposed to be a routine play practiced numerous times since these players' adolescence suddenly became a 'whodunnit?'
Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman tied the game 5-5 in the top of the 5th. The Yankees get up to bat the next inning and turn on the air conditioners.
Stanton gets a sacrifice fly to put the Yankees up 6-5 in the bottom of the 6th.
Gavin Lux hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 6-6, and Betts hit another sacrifice fly to give LA the lead, 7-6, in the bottom of the 8th, which was enough to win the game.
New York didn't play a complete twenty-seven outs. The team was underprepared for the moment and proved to need more depth to survive in October. Even at the highest level of professional sports, fans saw a team beat themselves.
Many questions still need to be answered for the New York Yankees, especially whether the front office wants to pull out the checkbook to pay Juan Soto and keep him in pinstripes and Aaron Judge's legacy to classify him as Yankees royalty.
If the Yankees make it to the World Series next year, hopefully, Alicia Keys and Jay Z will be available to perform 'Empire State of Mind' instead of booking Fat Joe to open the homecoming.
