The Yankees collapsed in unprecedented fashion in the fifth inning of game five, as Aaron Judge dropped a seemingly routine flare, and Anthony Volpe committed a throwing error on a short-distance toss from his backhand side to third base, setting up bases loaded and nobody out for the Dodgers.
But the Yanks could have somehow emerged unscathed after Gerrit Cole got two straight strikeouts, but he did not cover first on a cue-shot grounder to Anthony Rizzo, instead walking towards the dugout, setting up a five-run inning that tied the game and sent the Dodgers on their way to a World Series title.
It was an inning filled with defensive miscues and mental gaffes that have seemingly cost the Yanks time and time again this season, and this time, it ended the season.
Aaron Boone heard plenty of criticism from fans for the team’s continued struggles with fundamental baseball during the season, even on their run to a pennant, but Boone defended the team’s discipline, particularly when it comes to covering the bag off the pitcher’s mound.
“A 3-1 play, I think from a PFP standpoint, we're pretty good,” Boone said. “It's always magnified in a moment it doesn't happen. I’d have to look for sure, but I’d have to imagine, from a pitching standpoint, we’re pretty good at those kind of things.
“Those are tough plays to be super consistent at, especially when you have 12-15, sometimes 20 different pitchers rolling through with different skillsets. It’s something we work hard at. Obviously, we had a rough inning tonight.”
So, what did Boone see from Cole when he didn’t cover the bag on a play that led to an opening of the floodgates?
“I think there’s an element of just a reactionary thing in the moment,” Boone said. “I think part of it was just being spent that inning and exuding so much energy to almost work out of it, and just the quick flinch of delay with a guy like Mookie costs you. Maybe thinking here it was, typically that’s a ball the first baseman is gonna be able to take. But because of the spin, Rizz had to make sure he secured it. It’s hard to run through a ball that’s spinning like that.”
Regardless of the reasoning, Cole’s miscue and the others that preceded it will live in the minds of Yankee fans for a long time, as it added up to one of the most disastrous defensive innings in World Series history.