The New York Yankees used to be one of the most dominant franchises in Major League Baseball. From the days of Babe and Lou Gehrig to the Jeter dynasty, the pinstripers were sports royalty at its finest. It’s no longer the case nowadays, as the Yankees had not made the World Series in 15 years. When they did make it to the World Series, they lost it in the worst way possible in a near-sweep and the most embarrassing loss in recent Yankee history.
The teams must recover from this if they want another shot at the World Series, but it does not only come from re-signing Juan Soto. This rebuild should come from within and is needed to build a new foundation for this organization to prevent another implosion from occurring. While re-signing the best free agents is the immediate fix for the Yankees, it’s these small fixes from within the organization that will help bring back a dynasty to New York.
The New York Yankees Need To Re-Learn Baseball Fundamentals
The Yankees’ most significant flaw in the World Series and throughout the 2024 regular season was their fielding issues. They completely collapsed in what could be the worst defensive performance by a World Series team in history. From dropping fly balls, failing to communicate between first base and the mound, and just all-around sloppy defense, New York gave away the comfortable 5-0 lead they had for the first half of the game.
While these defensive slip-ups don’t usually come from the likes of Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, and Gerrit Cole, and it could be excused as being part of the game of baseball, these blunders in big moments have become a common occurrence for the Yankees throughout previous seasons in the past for this ball club.
The organization must address the defense this offseason. While the Yankees’ defense has been ignored throughout the past, these defensive issues in the World Series could call for a change. 2025 spring training could bring about a heavier emphasis on effort in the defense and fixing those blunders early in the season to prevent another defensive collapse that could prevent another World Series win.
The Yankees also have struggled with baserunning. As best described by John Sterling, the Yankees “run the bases like drunks,” and it’s been happening throughout the whole season for them, including the postseason. According to Bryan Hoch, the Yankees are ranked first with fewest baserunning runs for 2024 at -16.9. They are leading ahead of the Los Angeles Angels, who are at -14.2, and the MLB average for fewest baserunning runs is at 0.
The Yankees have fundamental problems throughout all aspects of their game, and they need to be fixed. They have a talented assortment of players who cannot play baseball. They hit for power and have generational talents like Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, but they are not a fundamentally sound team. It’s likely the World Series would have gone in New York’s favor had they fixed all these fundamental issues.
Rebuilding The Coaching Staff, Team Doctors, And Team Philosophy
One thing that the Yankees must address that could benefit their future, and a better run in a possible return to the World Series would be a change in their coaching staff. The Yankees’ 3rd base coach, Luis Rojas, is known for his questionable decision-making regarding having his players run the bases. Most notably, he conducted Giancarlo Stanton to run from second base to home plate in a desperate attempt to score runs against the Dodgers in game four of the World Series.
While this risky strategy may work for a fast player like Jazz Chisholm Jr or Anthony Volpe, it most certainly does not work for a guy like Giancarlo Stanton. In 2024, Stanton ranked 301 out of 305 players in terms of baserunning, according to BaseballSavant. Choosing to have Stanton run in such a dire situation should not be happening at the Major League level, let alone at the World Series.
The Yankees have a history of making errors when running the bases throughout this season. This issue has not been addressed by the organization but by its fans. The Yankees seem to struggle in both the infield and the outfield whenever the ball is in play. According to the Dodgers’ scouting report for the World Series, their game plan was to make the Yankees play baseball, which everyone saw that they couldn’t.
New York must also change its health staff. This issue does not necessarily pertain to this season, but their decision to continue to let first baseman Anthony Rizzo play with an undiagnosed concussion in 2023 should be grounds for a change within their medical staff. It was reported that Rizzo was fine after colliding with Fernando Tatis Jr. in the Padres series, but his play certainly didn’t show it.
Heading into the series against the Padres in late May, Rizzo was slugging at a slash line of .303/.376/.505 with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, and 30 runs scored. When Rizzo returned from injury, he had a batting average of .174 and a slugging percentage of .227. It’s painfully clear that the concussion played an impact on his performance, but he was initially misdiagnosed with a neck injury. Rizzo continued to play until August 1st when it was late into the regular season when he was finally diagnosed with a concussion after “feeling foggy.”
This type of diagnosis is not only detrimental to Rizzo as a player but to his personal health, and sending a player out on the field with a concussion should be grounds for firing. The likelihood of the Yankees changing up their medical staff isn’t likely this offseason, but it’s a concern that should be addressed before another Rizzo incident occurs.
Change Must Happen Now For The New York Yankees
The Bronx Bombers have not made a World Series in 15 years and left a World Series ringless and in embarrassing fashion. A change from multiple areas within the Yankee organization must be addressed, and the Yankees need that change now with Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole only getting older. From failing to make it past the ALCS in multiple years to their worst record in 30 years and now a humiliating World Series performance, the Yankees must change now before they become a shell of their former selves.
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