Late last month, the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated the franchise’s eighth World Series title.
A 7-6 win in Game 5 of the series eliminated the American League champion New York Yankees. The Dodgers won an instant classic Game 1, with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning.
Los Angeles won the next two games and was on the cusp of clinching the championship.
The Yankees managed to win Game 4, but some fifth-inning blunders in Game 5 proved to be more than New York could overcome. California native and Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly has not shied away from offering his unfiltered takes on why the Dodgers knocked off the Yankees.
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Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla., Sept. 18, 2024. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
During the latest edition of the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, Kelly piled on the Yankees by suggesting they should have been a lower seed in the playoffs.
“We had seen it every single game. Just let them throw the ball to the infield. They can’t make a play,” Kelly said. “It was a mismatch from the get-go. If we had a playoff re-ranking, they might be ranked the eighth- or ninth-best playoff team.
“You’re putting the Padres ahead of them. You’re putting the Phillies ahead of them. You’re putting the Mets ahead of them. You’re putting the Braves ahead of them, and the Braves just got unlucky because they had to play that doubleheader.”
SCENES FROM THE DODGERS’ LONG-AWAITED WORLD SERIES PARADE: ‘IT MEANS THE WORLD’
Although the Yankees needed just five games to eliminate the Guardians in the ALCS, Kelly believes Cleveland played “better baseball all around.”
“I mean, the Guardians played like crap, but the Guardians played better [defense] and better baseball all around,” Kelly said before again characterizing the Dodgers’ matchup with the Yankees a “complete mismatch.”
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla., Sept. 18, 2024. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe each committed errors in the disastrous fifth inning of Game 5. Pitcher Gerrit Cole added to the issues when he did not cover first base, which helped the Dodgers score five runs in the inning.
Joe Kelly (99) and Teoscar Hernández (37) of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after their 7-6 victory in Game 5 to win the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Oct. 30, 2024, in New York, N.Y. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
New York’s defensive woes surfaced well before Game 5. In the series opener, Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres misplayed a relay throw that allowed Shohei Ohtani to make it to third base. The Dodgers’ star designated hitter eventually made it safely to home plate to tie the game.
“Shohei got an extra base going to third on a sloppy Gleyber [Torres] play. It’s well known, we all knew. … We’re the Dodgers. … We know every little detail.”
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The Yankees enter the postseason with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over Juan Soto. The star outfielder hit a career-high 41 home runs in 2024. However, a bidding war is expected this offseason as teams try to sign Soto.
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