The New York Yankees appeared to be in the driver’s seat 5-0 in the top of the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series, but a defensive collapse the frame gave new life to the Dodgers, and the club took full advantage, tying the game and ultimately prevailing to secure a World Series championship.
It’s bad enough that the Yankees have to sit around all winter worrying about the results of the sloppy inning. Even worse is the fact that Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly, while speaking with Rob Bradford, host of the Baseball isn’t boring podcast, took a closer look at New York for its defensive issues.
“The Fat Joe Curse Watch!” @BBisntBoring pic.twitter.com/pTU0hHuIPN
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) October 31, 2024
“We were down 5-0,” Kelly said. “They put Fat Joe on the board (scoreboard) and I thought, ‘Oh, it’s an easy copy now.’ Fat Joe is the curse. They started kicking the ball around and playing Yankee defense.
“And I looked at (Brent) Honeywell and said, ‘The Fat Joe curse, look.’ And we started chipping away, bad play, bad play and we ended up getting my second (World Series championship) with the Dodgers.
Kelly’s words become even more biting for the Yankees organization in light of the reporting from the The New York Post Joel Sherman, who sketched it The Dodgers scouting report about the American League champions. According to Sherman, Los Angeles told its players that the Yankees were a team of “talent over fundamentals”, and the Dodgers encouraged players to “put the ball in play to execute the Yankees”.
Fat Joe curse or not, the Dodgers followed the scouting report to a T. They put the ball in play and the Yankees broke up in the fifth inning. And that was the difference in Game 5, and ultimately the World Series as a whole.