The 2025 edition of Major League Baseball’s World Series ended with the Los Angeles Dodgers being crowned champions in five games. Los Angeles’ success in this World Series leads many to believe that they absolutely dominated the Yankees, but was that really the case?
When looking at the statistics, the Yankees and the Dodgers actually weren’t that far apart. The first three games of the series were decided by less than four runs, with the largest margin of victory actually being regarded as the closest game of the three as it ended in a walkoff Grand Slam by eventual World Series MVP Freddie Freeman. Overall the statistics showed the Yankees actually leading in World Series batting average (.206 vs .212), and the Dodgers only scored one more run than the Yankees (25 runs vs 24 runs). So how did the Dodgers complete the Gentleman’s sweep? Well, the answer comes down to two very underrated aspects of the game: defense and baserunning.
In Game One, the Yankees had a couple of defensive miscues that changed the course of the game and ultimately the series. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Yankees had a narrow 2-1 lead. NL MVP Shohei Ohtani stepped up to the plate and hit a ball off the right field wall. Juan Soto’s throw from right field into second base was not picked cleanly off, allowing Ohtani to advance to third with one out in the inning. He would end up scoring and tying the game.
In the bottom of the 10th, The Yankees were three outs away from winning their first World Series game in 15 years. With a runner on first and one out, Tommy Edman hit a ground ball to Oswaldo Cabrera that wasn’t fielded properly. Though this play was difficult, it certainly was a play that Cabrera could have made. A few batters later Freddie Freeman would hit the grand slam to send Dodger nation into a frenzy.
In game three, the Yankees, ranked as one of the worst baserunning teams in Major League Baseball during the regular season, committed yet another blunder when Giancarlo Stanton was shut down trying to score on an Anthony Volpe single. After that moment, the momentum shifted back to Los Angeles leading to yet another victory for the Dodgers.
Then the infamous fifth inning in game five; I genuinely don’t think we will ever see another inning quite like it. With the Yankees in firm control, up 5-0 in the top of the fifth, New York’s defensive holes were exposed in a major way. The first blunder occurred with a runner on first and nobody out when Aaron Judge dropped an easy fly ball in center field. The very next batter, Will Smith, would hit a ground ball to Volpe. Volpe, trying to cut the runner down at third, rushed the throw and spiked it, allowing the Dodgers to load the bases. Despite the pair of errors, Gerrit Cole still had a chance to get out of the inning with zero runs allowed.
With two outs in the inning, Mookie Betts hit a ground ball to Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo and Cole miscommunicated about who would cover first, allowing Betts to reach safely. The Dodgers would end up scoring five runs in the inning, winning the game and the World Series a few innings later.
In the postseason, hitting and pitching obviously matter. However, if a team can’t make easy plays and do the little, under-the-radar things, it’s tough to win games. The Yankees found this out the hard way. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and let’s buckle up for what should be a wild free agency.
