It was billed as a dream matchup that had a Hollywood ending, but it didn’t quite work out that way. In reality, the 2024 World Series turned into a nightmare for script writers working on the highlight film.
They can start and end with Freddie Freeman and skip a lot of what went on in between. I’m also predicting that one game in particular will lead to another rule change, which seems to be an annual offseason distraction. More on that later.
Perhaps it worked out OK for Fox and Major League Baseball because the “battle of the coasts” World Series had good television ratings, but after a dramatic extra-inning finish in Game 1, things sort of got out of hand. History will show that the Los Angeles Dodgers won the first three games and won the best-of-seven series in what looks like a five-game mismatch.
But a closer look reveals that defensive lapses, mental and physical, cost the Yankees two of their four losses — while the Dodgers’ blunder-filled bullpen game led to the new champion’s only loss. By almost any measuring stick the Dodgers gave every indication of being the better team, but it’s not a stretch of the imagination to envision them flying home down 3-2 rather than in possession of the Commissioner’s Trophy.
That’s all part of the “ifs and buts” theories that are meaningless in the long run. However, the facts are that Freeman’s dramatic grand slam in the 10th inning of Game 1 wouldn’t have happened had the Yankees’ poor defensive play had not contributed to the Dodgers’ first two runs.
One came when Juan Soto played a double into a triple. The second came on an errant throw from right field that skipped into the infield, allowing another pass to third base and further emphasizing that Soto has no business being a finalist for a Gold Glove. In each case, the runner scored on a sacrifice fly — one run technically earned, the other unearned.
But those were minor blemishes for what my pal Rick (Arky) Vaughn noted “might have been the worst inning in World Series history.” That, of course would be the fifth inning of the final game, the Yankees’ nightmare that will linger until spring training at the very least. Aaron Judge dropped a routine fly ball and Anthony Volpe made a poor throw on an attempted force play at third, but those miscues paled in comparison to what followed.
After logging two strikeouts, one being Shohei Ohtani, with the bases loaded, Gerrit Cole induced a soft grounder by Mookie Betts to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, but the Yankees’ ace, after breaking reasonably well off the mound, failed to cover first base, allowing the first run to score.
A close look at the replay indicated it might have been a bang-bang play had Cole not aborted his dash to first, but with Rizzo playing deep it presented a very bad look for the Yankees and a gift run for the Dodgers. As happens so often in such cases, the flood gates opened, allowing five unearned runs to tie the score. To his credit, Cole gutted his way into the seventh inning, leaving with a 6-5 lead, but you had the feeling this “dream” matchup was headed toward an unpleasant ending.
In a way, it was something of a shame given the way the Dodgers managed Game 4 the previous day — an infamous “bullpen game” that did not involve any of the Dodgers’ high-leverage pitchers. One pitcher, Ben Casparius, made the first start of his career in a World Series game while another, Landon Knack, who started 12 times during the regular season, wound up working four innings in relief. Huh?
It was Game 3 that knocked me for a loop. It featured a total of six runs and 10 hits — and “featured” 15 pitchers! As in FIFTEEN. And one of them, Walker Buehler, actually started and went five scoreless innings before being removed for presumed future inefficiency.
Here’s a couple of kickers — the Dodgers’ “bullpen game” was the next day, and the day after that, Buehler, who has undergone two Tommy John surgeries, recorded his first-ever save, pitching the ninth inning of the clincher on one day of rest.
That might resonate with some of us old-timers but runs counter to current trends, even though manager Dave Roberts had all of his “leverage” arms available for the final game. More than the Game 4 disaster, it was the third game that turned me off about this series.
The mere thought of 15 pitchers being used in a game that featured a total of six runs and 10 hits is preposterous. I don’t have any doubt it will spur the rule-changers into action, probably sooner rather than later.
For the most part I haven’t been thrilled about the rash of changes MLB has made throughout the years, but I sense this one could actually make sense. It might even make the 2024 World Series worth remembering beyond Freeman’s remarkable performance.
Jim Henneman can be reached at JimH@pressboxonline.com
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox