The 2024 Yankees Lose the Last Game

by EJ Fagan

November 1, 2024

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NOTE: The following comes from EJ Fagan's substack page and is shared with permission. This was published a few days ago so the stats don't include the last few games.

Please check out EJ's substack page for more great articles.

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The Yankees lost. Game 5 was a roller coaster of emotions. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. The 2024 season is over. Was it a success?

Undeniably, the answer is yes. The Yankees won more games than any team in the AL and made the World Series. It is unreasonable to define success as World Series or Bust. This isn’t 2000. The game is more competitive than ever.

That said, this team was frustrating. It was a 92 win team built almost entirely on the backs of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. They got some okay contributions from others on the team, but the overall package of 24 other players was well below average. That both left them vulnerable to one random injury or slump and made the team maddening to watch at times.

I’ll have more specific thoughts on the post season in a few days, but here’s my vent:

The Yankees were a sloppy team in 2024. Between a half dozen major base running mistakes, the big Gleyber Torres, and everything that happened tonight during the Inning From Hell, and a few plays that I’m sure that I blacked out, the Yankees gave away too many outs to their opponents. They somehow managed to survive the first two series despite themselves, but folded when met with an actually good team.

You have to point to the coaching staff for the lack of attention to detail. Aaron Boone’s contract is up. He should not return. The Yankees need to improve on all sorts of fundamentals to compete against well-run teams like the Dodgers. I’m still convinced that a lot of the Yankees hitting struggles are coaching related.

That’s it for now. Thank you for reading my little blog for the past two years. I usually take a little break after the Yankees are eliminated from the postseason, but not this year!

The offseason starts right away. Juan Soto sweepstakes, here we come.

Congratulations, Los Angeles. We’ll get you next time.